


alphabet soup

by fir8008



Series: leaf and sand and wind and shadow [1]
Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: A-Z, Canon Related, Developing Relationship, Drabble Collection, Established Relationship, Family, Marriage, Multi, Post-Canon, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2020-10-05 18:42:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 20,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20493470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fir8008/pseuds/fir8008
Summary: an A-Z drabble collection





	1. f is for future

**Author's Note:**

> hello! i wanted to give myself a bit of a writing challenge so i decided to write these 26 alphabet prompts - they're all basically standalones, but are loosely connected and all in the same universe. i've ordered them chronologically, not alphabetically, and i'll write in the summary of each chapter which characters are in each one. currently, i've rated this t because of future chapters and i've tagged most future chapters. updates will be mondays, wednesdays, and fridays and i tried to space out the different pairings and such so it's not like a whole week of the same ones over and over
> 
> i hope you enjoy!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shikamaru, Kurenai, Mirai  
shippuden-era compliant  
word count: 675

“Shikamaru? Are you in there? That was the hospital just now, Kurenai’s in labor…” 

After the dust has settled, after the baby is born and mother and child are safe, they will be able to joke about it. Yoshino will laugh and say it’s the fastest she’s ever seen Shikamaru move. Shikamaru will huff and blush but he won’t be able to deny it. 

But until that time comes, Shikamaru almost trips over his own feet and runs out of the house with his shoes half on. He runs all the way to the hospital, cursing and wishing he had just a little bit of Lee’s speed at a time like this. If only he could burst open one of the Eight Inner Gates and make it there in record time. Instead he has to settle for tight lungs and burning calves as he pants out Kurenai’s name at the reception desk. He gets a visitor’s pass and stumbles his way to the maternity ward. By the time he’s there, Kurenai’s already been taken to the delivery room so Shikamaru flops down on one of the benches to wait. 

It’s agony to wait, and he knows some women can be in labor for days. He sits, twiddling his thumbs and staring off into space, and hopes that he won’t be called away for something else important. Kurenai will scold him for running all the way here when he’s so busy, but they both know Shikamaru would have shamelessly run out of a war council to be here. 

Eventually a medic comes and fetches him and brings him to a room. Kurenai is propped up on several fluffy pillows, her black hair damp with sweat, but she’s holding a bundle in her arms and beaming at it tiredly, but Shikamaru has never seen her so happy. 

“You’re here,” she says. 

“Well, you called,” Shikamaru replies. 

“Do you want to hold her?” she asks and Shikamaru draws closer, holding his arms out clumsily. He hasn’t held a baby since he wasn’t much older than one himself, back when he was still tied to his mother’s apron strings because he was too young to be left on his own. As matriarch, his mother went around to all the families of their clan, meeting with expectant mothers and bringing food to the ones who recently gave birth. Shikamaru has hazy memories of holding many baby cousins, but it had been quite some time. 

The baby fits into his arms awkwardly, he doesn’t know where to put his hands other than he knows he needs to support the neck so he ends up holding the baby strangely. He’s sweating like a pig trying to not look like a fool and ends up not actually looking at the baby until he’s settled down. 

All at once, Shikamaru feels like the air is being squeezed harshly out of his lungs. For the first time in his life, Shikamaru doesn’t know what to do. Everyone says he’s a genius. Shikamaru always has a plan. He always thinks two hundred steps ahead. But now, holding Asuma’s child, Asuma’s King, he has no idea what to do. No thoughts come to his mind and he’s finding it harder and harder to breathe. They’re on the precipice of war. It’s not the time to have a baby, but here she is, and Shikamaru needs to come back alive for her, for Asuma.

“Shikamaru,” Kurenai says softly. “Why are you crying?” 

Shikamaru looks up at her. “Kurenai,” he chokes out. “She’s… she’s perfect. She’s beautiful.” 

Kurenai smiles and reaches to wipe away his tears. “She looks like him, doesn’t she?” 

Shikamaru nods as he looks back down at the baby. “She does.” 

“Her name is Mirai.” 

Mirai. Future. He smiles at her gently. He’s holding the future in his arms now. No matter what kind of strategy he maps out in his mind, she won’t adhere to it, he’ll be constantly reworking all of his plans. But he’ll be there to guide her, just like he promised.


	2. z is for zero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaara, Shira  
post end of fourth shinobi war  
word count: 780

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello hello! i hope you enjoy this chapter!

After the war has ended and they all go back to their respective villages to bury their dead and rebuild their lives, that’s when it strikes Gaara very suddenly that he misses Lee. 

It’s strange because he and Lee are not terribly close. Their previous encounters had been strictly coincidental although their relationship had morphed from enemies to tentative allies to friends. Without a doubt, Lee probably did consider them friends, though Gaara sometimes did not understand why. Despite this, their paths had crossed many times and towards the end of the war Lee had fought at Gaara’s side and protected him. Perhaps it shouldn’t have been surprising that Gaara felt a certain sense of kinship with Lee. 

Gaara is more surprised by the feeling of longing he feels whenever Lee crosses his mind. He thinks of Lee’s tireless smile and boundless energy and thinks his presence would do an awful lot to brighten up the atmosphere while Suna rebuilt. How nice it would be to see that smile… 

Gaara pushes these thoughts away. The fact of the matter is that Lee is not here, he is in Konoha where he belongs, mourning his teammate and his teacher and his other countrymen, helping to rebuild his own life. Gaara is the Kazekage, he doesn’t have time for fanciful thoughts. He doesn’t have the luxury of missing a person who doesn’t belong here in the Sand. 

And yet when Gaara sees the green jumpsuit and the orange leg warmers, he can’t help but wonder if his eyes are being deceived. Is it just a trick of the light and a lack of water and proper rest? Is the figure standing just a bit too far away simply a mirage of the desert? Gaara’s feet propel him towards the figure. He can see dark hair. 

His voice comes out choked. “Lee?” 

When he turns so Gaara can see his face, it isn’t Lee, but Shira. No wonder Gaara was mistaken; Shira always reminded Gaara strongly of Lee. 

“Shira,” he corrects.

“Lord Kazekage! I am glad to see you are alive and well.” Shira greets him brightly. 

Gaara glances at his jumpsuit again. “Where did you get this?” 

“Rock Lee gave it to me during our Chunin Exam. We battled in the Demon Desert to test our strength.” Shira explains.

“Ah,” Gaara says, giving a slight nod. 

“Lord Kazekage, how is Rock Lee?” Shira asks him quietly. “I heard that his teacher battled Uchiha Madara directly, but to do so he opened all Eight Gates…” 

“To my knowledge, he yet lives, but I do not know the full extent of his injuries. I cannot say what state he is in, but I do know that Naruto saved him from dying. Rock Lee is also alive.” Gaara pauses. “But I am sure he is currently in mourning. One of his teammates died in the war, and his teacher’s injuries must be serious.” 

“I asked because the war made me realize something important,” Shira says. “I asked Yome to marry me and she said yes. Lord Kazekage, it would be our honor to invite you to our wedding. I also wanted to invite Rock Lee.” 

“It would be my honor to attend your wedding, Shira. I cannot speak for Lee, but I am sure he would be overjoyed to hear of your upcoming marriage.” 

“Thank you. I suppose in a way, this is all thanks to Rock Lee. If you had not met him, you might not have understood why I wanted to be a ninja, even though I can only use taijutsu. And had I not met him myself, I might not have had the courage to join the special forces. And if not for that, I would not have grown closer to Yome, and then we wouldn’t be getting married now!” Shira smiles.”Before, I really thought my life had no meaning, but now there’s a whole bright future ahead of me. And of course you, Lord Kazekage, will help bring us all into an era of peace!” 

Gaara can feel the heat building up in his face completely unrelated to the desert sun. “Shira, your life was never meaningless. You are a splendid shinobi, even if you do only use taijutsu. I am sure Rock Lee would agree with me.” 

Shira just smiles even more widely and gives him the signature nice guy pose. Gaara feels a sudden twinge in his chest when he sees it because it makes him think of Lee. He wants to see Lee again; he wants to see him off the battlefield. And perhaps Gaara will be able to figure out why he misses Lee so much.


	3. y is for yes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Temari, Shikamaru (mentioned)   
references the konoha hiden   
word count: 630

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can't believe it's friday already... 
> 
> hope you enjoy!

Temari flops back onto the couch after she’s slammed the door in her brothers’ faces with an irritated huff. She’s still embarrassed from her last trip to Konoha, the disastrous way that it ended. Shikamaru hadn’t even come to see her off the following day after she sent a furious gust of wind at him. She can feel her face burning from the memory. 

Maybe it had been some wishful thinking and purposeful misunderstanding on her part. Shikamaru had never said anything clearly, just that he was thinking about a honeymoon and wanted to ask her about it. Even when they’d been outside the inn, Temari had just assumed Shikamaru wanted to go inside with her so they could be alone. She’d blurted out some embarrassing things about getting carried away by the atmosphere. He hadn’t understood what she meant but she hadn’t understood what he was really asking of her. 

It shouldn’t have surprised her, honestly. Shikamaru never struck her as the kind of man to be that forward. In fact, with his stuffy ideas about how men and women should behave, the right kind of girl shouldn’t have gone along with his plan to look at inns together. 

She sighs again, the embarrassment ebbing and flowing. The real problem was that if Shikamaru had asked her, she would have said yes. In all honesty, she had been waiting for him to say something and though going on a honeymoon was theoretically many steps after a first date, she didn’t question it. 

Her feelings for him had changed since they met when he was nothing but a lazy waste of talent and air, not to mention an enemy. When their villages reconciled, she came to his rescue and called him a crybaby but she couldn’t help but feel empathy seeing how soft he was. Suna shinobi were so hard and battleworn, unmoving and harsh as stone, especially the men. Such a display of emotion, of care and love for his subordinates, was out of the ordinary for Temari. And when they started to work together after Temari became a diplomat, she started to see other sides of him too. Finally, a serious, hardworking side of Shikamaru appeared to her, even if he bitched and moaned over every little thing, his work was always completed on time. 

Then came the war, and maybe she fell for him in the midst of all that chaos. He kept them from dying, he never stopped thinking, never stopped strategizing; he knew how to keep them all going even when morale started dipping dangerously low. She thought he’d make a good Hokage. When he started pulling away from her, concealed dangerous missions from her, she felt hurt in a way she couldn’t describe. She wanted him to rely on her, to confide in her, and want her help. It’s all she wanted from her brothers too. So she couldn’t rein in her anger when Shikamaru thought keeping her at a distance would be better for both of them. When he asked her if she’d like to go on a date, she’d been secretly pleased even though she teased him about it. 

Temari sits up. She’s lost track of time while she’s been brooding and the sun is beginning to set. She stretches and decides she needs a walk to clear her head. She still dreads running into Shikamaru, but she’s steamed for long enough. If she does see him, she might even apologize for blowing him away. 

She straps on her fan and slips on her shoes. What she’d really like, though, is for Shikamaru to ask her whatever question he’s been wanting to ask. If he wants to go out to dinner or get married right now, Temari’s answer would still be yes.


	4. m is for mane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shikamaru, Shigezane, Hakuto  
references the gaara hiden  
word count: 700

“Here you are,” Nara Shikamaru says, setting down one of Hakuto’s bags. “Your new home.” 

Shigezane looks around, still feeling dazed. Maybe it’s lingering heatstroke from leaving the desert, or the shock of the past week. Just a few days ago he and Hakuto were trying to elope, running from the Kazekage that Shigezane was sure would kill them. And on paper, he had. But in reality, the Kazekage had let them cross the border into Konoha and even had someone there to help them forge new identities. The old Shigezane had died in Suna, a new one was being reborn this moment. 

“It’s not much,” Nara Shikamaru continues. “But since it was short notice, and you’re meant to keep a low profile for the time being, it’ll have to do. Once you get a little more established within the clan, you’ll be able to upgrade if you want to.” 

Shigezane gazes around the room. It’s part of a rather new looking apartment building that sticks out from the older style houses in the area. There’s a paper screen with a painting of a deer covering one wall, but otherwise it seems quite modern. It’s nothing like Suna. 

“You’re lucky your hair is dark and thick,” Nara Shikamaru is still talking. “You’ll be able to blend in well. It’s kind of short, so you’ll have to grow it out a bit so you can tie it up more easily.” He turns his head to show his ponytail. “All the men of our clan wear our hair like this. I don’t know about your clan back in Suna, but we’re sort of strict traditionalists.” He gestures to a commode. “There’s some clothing in there with our clan crest. Also very important. There are sacred grounds that only our clan members can enter. If you go without making it apparent you’re a part of us, people might not respond too kindly.” He pauses. “Actually, you might want to steer clear of the sacred grounds entirely, at least at first, the deer might not take too kindly to you either.” 

Shigezane’s head is spinning. “Why are you doing this for us?” 

Nara Shikamaru shrugs. “Sure, it’s a drag, but I’m Temari’s fiance, and Gaara asked for my help. The alternative was him actually killing you, so isn’t this preferable?”

“Well, yes, but…” 

“Look. Gaara didn’t want to marry her,” he gestures at Hakuto, “didn’t want to separate you two, and didn’t want to kill you. You were the ones who wouldn’t go back to Suna, so what option was left? Anyway, I’m a part of this mess anyway. It’s because of my inferior bloodline mingling with the Kazekage clan’s that this sham marriage was going to happen anyway. Luckily, my clan is large and the war caused all kinds of ripple effects in our population. Births and deaths and marriages and remarriages. Our clan census is going to be a mess, so who will really notice two previously unknown clan members? No one, especially not me, the clan head.” 

“I still don’t understand…” 

Nara Shikamaru shrugs. “You don’t have to. Gaara’s given you a second chance to live your life together and luckily he had a way to do it. Be grateful you have your lives and be happy together.” He points to a stack of papers. “Pick out new identities for yourselves and when you’re ready, come find me and register your marriage. I’ll be going now.” 

He leaves, and Shigezane and Hakuto look at each other. Both of them are dazed and they quickly embrace. Even though they had always planned to live and run away, actually being alive after facing down Gaara of the Desert was a shock. Shigezane holds Hakuto closer to him. She pulls away and he looks at her curiously. She reaches up to push her fingers through his hair. She rises and crosses behind him, taking a hair tie and beginning to pull his hair into a ponytail. 

“I thought that Lord Gaara looked a bit like you,” Hakuto tells him softly, as she tugs his short locks into a stubby ponytail. “But with a little time, I think you could look like Lord Shikamaru too.”


	5. h is for horse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Temari, Shikamaru   
word count: 765

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hellooo 
> 
> i gotta tell you, i have thought it was thursday all day because i have to go into school an extra day this week and it has seriously got me all messed up on the days of the week 
> 
> anyway, hope you enjoy!

Wedding planning meant that Temari had to confront the lack of items in her bridal trousseau; she never started one in part because her mother died when she was young and also because she didn’t really think she would ever marry willingly. Her hand in marriage was always an option for a political alliance, so Temari refused to accumulate any goods for her future wedding as a way to reject it. She wasn’t going to collect anything for a marriage she didn’t want and if she was forcibly married off, then her father could use the village’s budget to buy whatever he thought a princess should have. 

Looking back, maybe she should have started saving some things after her father died and after Gaara showed no intention of using Temari as a pawn to gain political power, because now she has nothing for her upcoming wedding. 

Temari wasn’t too fussy, so she found things that she liked easily enough. Her wedding was a big political to-do because it would solidify peace between the Leaf and the Sand and her husband to be was already tearing his hair out over how troublesome it all is. Despite his griping, Temari could see in his eyes he was eager to marry her. They had an incredibly short courtship, only dating for three months before he asked her to marry him with a ring that had been passed down in his clan for generations. It meant a lot to Temari because she knew how traditional Shikamaru’s clan was, and that the ring meant his clan was willing to accept her, a foreign shinobi, as their clan head’s bride. Gaara too had consented to their marriage, even though he’d been mildly surprised at how quickly their dating had turned into a serious courtship.

“This is pretty sexist, isn’t it,” Shikamaru said after they returned from asking Gaara’s permission to wed. “You’re the older sister but you need to ask your younger brother for permission to get married?” 

“It’s a Suna custom.” 

“Sure, it’s customary to ask the father of the girl you want to date for his permission in Konoha too, but it doesn’t carry any legal weight if he says no,” Shikamaru said. “If Gaara said no and we got married anyway, you wouldn’t get publicly shamed and driven out of your clan if this was Konoha.”

Temari shrugged. “I thought you wouldn’t mind this kind of thing considering how you always talk about the roles of men and women. Don’t you like this kind of macho stuff?” 

Instead of answering, Shikamaru just put his arms around her and Temari felt herself relax. She found herself remembering something she once overheard around the jonin barracks. 

Two of the younger male jonin were joking around, one of their squad members was getting married soon and Temari overheard them discuss the upcoming marriage. One of them had said to the other that turning a woman into a good wife was like breaking a horse. 

It had been such a flippant comment, but hearing it felt like someone had poured a bucket of ice water over Temari’s head. Were the men in Suna all like this? Did they think that? That a good wife was quietly obedient and didn’t fight back? What kind of a marriage did Temari have to look forward to, then? When she was always vocal in her opinions and proud of her strength? How much breaking would she need before she could be considered a good wife? 

And then she and Shikamaru began seeing each other, and he basically let her do as she pleased, even if it included walking all over him. She asked him why once and he just gave her a strange look. 

“Woman, as if I could make you do anything you didn’t want to do.” 

It hadn’t been much, in fact it had just showed off Shikamaru’s laziness more - Temari couldn’t be moved so he wasn’t going to bother trying - but it had put Temari at such ease. Shikamaru wasn’t going to expect her to be a docile housewife and when he finally did broach the fact that most Nara women were housewives, he said that he didn’t need her to change who she was. 

“The clan probably won’t like it,” Shikamaru shrugged. “But that’s too bad. Apparently, I didn’t want a low maintenance woman, I wanted you.”

And it wasn’t in Temari’s nature to stay at home, but for him, she was willing to try. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and told him very sincerely, “I’m happy I’m marrying you.”


	6. d is for dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rock Lee, Gaara, Kankuro, Temari, Shikamaru  
word count: 1045

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> helloooo 
> 
> i was telling one of my classmates yesterday that wednesday felt like thursday, thursday felt like thursday, but friday was going to feel like saturday, and true enough i actually forgot it was friday hahaha 
> 
> this is one of my favorite chapters; i honestly think i wanted to write something like this ever since the wedding day arc when they brought up the hidden cloud dance vs the hidden sand samba (mind you that was only a couple months ago, but still)
> 
> i hope you enjoy!!

Lee is weaving through the crowd at Shikamaru and Temari’s wedding reception looking for Gaara. He’s harder to find now that he’s taken off his billowing white Kage robes and pointed hat, but Lee finally spots him standing with Kankuro by the refreshments table. Lee breaks out into a grin as he makes his way over to him. The music changes while he’s walking and Lee pauses when he hears some excited squealing from some of the female guests. The dance floor fills again and Lee watches, amazed by the dancing. Once he realizes most of the dancing guests are Temari’s guests from Suna, he realizes this must be the Hidden Sand Samba that he’s been hearing about since before Naruto’s wedding. It is a perfect opportunity to train! The Hidden Sand Samba has such intricate footwork, it would be a great way to increase agility! 

“Gaara-kun!” Lee says excitedly when he finally reaches Gaara. 

“Lee,” Gaara smiles as he begins to drink from his cup. 

“If you would be so kind, would you please teach me how to dance the Hidden Sand Samba?” 

Gaara coughs his drink back into his cup. “What?” he sputters, face pink and eyes wide. 

“Please teach me the Hidden Sand Samba!” 

Kankuro starts laughing behind him and Gaara turns pinker. “I… I don’t know…” 

“Hey, Eyebrows, come here. I’ll teach you how to samba.” Temari says from behind him. 

“Will you? How wonderful! Thank you! Oh, will you be leading? Exce-agh!” 

Temari grips Lee’s waist firmly and spins him onto the dancefloor. Temari doesn’t really do much explaining, but Lee starts picking up the steps as they move together. The samba seems to emphasize the movement of the hips and Lee blushes as he feels Temari’s hips roll towards his. 

“Since you’re at a cross cultural wedding,” Temari says lightly. “I’ll let you know about a little cultural thing here in Suna. When you ask someone to dance the Hidden Sand Samba with you, you’re coming onto them.” 

Lee’s face starts burning. “Oh! I did not know that!” 

“It’s because of the hips. We’re a pretty conservative people but this dance is rather passionate and sensual. When you ask someone to dance the samba with you, you’re telling them,” Temari presses her hand to the small of Lee’s back as she dips him, their hips flush together, “my hips will be your oasis in the desert.” 

As she lifts him back up, Shikamaru is there, also a little red faced. “Sorry, Lee, I’m just going to cut in here…” 

“Of course!” Lee steps aside and lets Shikamaru pull Temari into an awkward dance hold. She smiles at her husband slyly and Lee meanders back, but Gaara and Kankuro have moved on. He feels a bit disappointed, but Lee also feels something stirring in his stomach. He wants to apologize to Gaara for his gaffe, but at the same time he wants to talk to Gaara some more. Since Naruto’s wedding, Lee had felt his feelings towards Gaara changing. They’d been enemies, then allies, and now they were friends, but Lee felt part of him longing to become more and he wondered if Gaara wanted the same thing. 

After the reception winds down and the guests return to their lodgings, Lee runs into Gaara again outside the door to his hotel room. 

“Lord Kazekage!” 

“Lee, please, just Gaara is fine.”

“Gaara,” Lee corrects. “Are you retiring for the evening?” 

“Yes,” Gaara pauses. “Would you like to come in?” 

“I would love to!” 

Gaara leads Lee into his room. It’s an ornately furnished room, unlike Lee’s own plain room, but Gaara is the Kazekage and brother of the bride. The bed is the focal point of the room and Lee feels his ears begin to heat up thinking about just how wide and plush it looks.

“Gaara-kun,” Lee begins. “I apologize for what happened at the reception.” 

“Please, don’t worry about it,” Gaara says. 

“But Gaara-kun,” Lee swallows nervously. “Would you like to dance the Hidden Sand Samba with me?” 

Gaara meets his gaze, looking confused. “But you…” 

“I know what I am asking you now,” Lee says. “And I would like to share this with you.” He holds out his arms, letting Gaara decide to come into his arms or not. 

Gaara takes a few tentative steps and reaches for Lee’s hand. Lee gently places his hand on Gaara’s back and pulls him in a little closer. Gaara looks up at him shyly and Lee’s heart skips a beat looking into Gaara’s eyes. They’re the color of sea glass and Lee thinks it’s the most beautiful color he’s ever seen. 

“I’m not very good at dancing,” Gaara says quietly. 

“Temari-san was a good teacher, but I did not pick up the dance that quickly. Perhaps, we can do something slower,” Lee says. 

Gaara steps in even closer and cautiously rests his head on Lee’s chest. Lee’s heart starts to race. 

“Your heart is beating quite fast,” Gaara says, turning his face up to look at Lee. 

“Gaara-kun, I’d like to kiss you.” Lee blurts out. 

Gaara blinks at him and blushes faintly. “Yes, I would like that too.” 

Lee can feel his cheeks heat up as he leans down, and Gaara pushes himself up on the balls of his feet, and brushes their lips together. It’s the barest kiss but it warms Lee all over. Gaara tightens his grip on Lee’s hand and presses their lips together in a more insistent kiss. 

“Lee, I think I have been falling in love with you,” Gaara says as they pull apart. 

“I think I have been falling for you as well,” Lee says as Gaara rests his head on Lee’s chest again, looking content. Lee begins to sway them gently. “I love you, Gaara-kun.” 

Gaara tightens his hold on Lee’s arm. “Lee…” 

It may not be a samba, but Lee is more than happy holding Gaara like this now, knowing that Gaara reciprocates his love. Lee smiles, and carefully turns to dip Gaara. Gaara blinks up at him a bit owlishly but he lets Lee support his back. Lee quickly presses a kiss to Gaara’s lips and then lifts him back into his arms. The springtime of their youth is just beginning!


	7. r is for rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shikamaru, Temari  
word count: 430

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy mondayy 
> 
> hope you enjoy!

“I’m home,” Shikamaru calls into the house as he tugs off his jacket. It’s raining cats and dogs outside and he tugs his hair out of its ponytail so he can shake out some of the rainwater. “Temari? Are you home?” 

There’s no response as Shikamaru pads farther into the house. It’s not uncommon for Temari to be out and about, but with the intensity of the rain, Shikamaru hopes she has an umbrella with her, or found somewhere to wait out the downpour. He drops his jacket over the radiator and pulls his hair back up. He’s about to cross into their kitchen when he looks up and sees Temari outside in the courtyard, standing in the pouring rain. 

“Temari!” he yelps, snatching up his jacket and running outside. He drops his jacket over her head and she blinks at him, like he’s woken her up from a trance. “Woman! What are you doing out here? You’re going to catch your death.” He grabs her by the arm to pull her back inside but she doesn’t move. “Temari!” 

“I’m fine,” she says, glancing up at the overcast sky. Her hair is loose and plastered to her head. Her dress has completely soaked through and is clinging to her like a second skin. And she’s barefoot. Shikamaru is going to have an aneurysm. 

“How long have you been out here? What are you doing?” Shikamaru says, still trying to tow his wife back inside. 

“Just a little while,” she replies. “I’ve never felt rain like this.” 

Shikamaru freezes. “Really? You’ve never been in Konoha when it’s monsoon season?” 

She shakes her head. “It feels nice.” 

Shikamaru looks up at the sky. “It’s freezing rain.” 

“We don’t have rains like this in the desert.”

Shikamaru studies his wife’s face carefully. She actually looks a bit awed by the rain. As a wind user, she’s probably in her element right now with the winds of a storm moving the rain through the village. Even if he has to admit Temari looks magnificent this drenched, Shikamaru is really starting to shiver from the cold. 

“It’ll be raining like this all month; you’ll get to experience a lot of rain.” Shikamaru nudges her again. “Let’s go inside. I’m cold and we should get you dry so you don’t get sick.” 

Finally, she acquiesces and they head back inside together. Shikamaru fetches some towels and together they dry off. Temari still watches the rain but Shikamaru makes tea and sits with her in his arms. 

The next morning, Shikamaru is the one with the sniffles.


	8. j is for jealous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, Sai, Karui  
word count: 1140

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have no business being this tired in the middle of the week... 
> 
> i hope you enjoy!!

Shikamaru heads to Barbe-Q alone since Temari had been called to Suna urgently earlier that day. Unfortunately, Shikamaru got the sense that Choji wanted to tell everyone something since he hadn’t just invited Shikamaru and Ino, but told them to bring Temari and Sai along, and mentioned he’d be bringing Karui. Whatever news Choji wanted to tell everyone, Shikamaru just hopes he won’t be too upset that Temari isn’t there. 

He’s the last to show up, so he apologetically explains that Temari got called away on urgent diplomatic duty. 

“Apparently it was something Lee couldn’t take care of on his own, so she had to go with him,” he says as he slides into the booth beside Sai and Ino. 

“I never thought Lee would become an ambassador,” Ino comments. “What do the people in the Sand Village even think of him?” 

Shikamaru shrugs. “Gaara recommended him personally to replace Temari.”

“I can just imagine some of those stuffy Sand-nin being absolutely shocked by Lee,” Ino giggles.

They crack a couple more jokes at Lee’s expense and then order food. It’s been a little while since they’ve gathered like this, missions and distance keeping them apart, and Shikamaru misses Temari thinking about how it would be even better if she was here too. 

After they’ve cleared several trays of meat, Choji clears his throat.

“I called us all together because Karui and I have some news.” Choji takes Karui’s hand in his and smiles. “I asked her to marry me and she said yes! We’re engaged!” 

“Congratulations!” Shikamaru can’t help but smile. Choji and Karui had been dating for quite some time and he brought her as his guest to Shikamaru and Temari’s wedding. Shikamaru had been wondering when they’d get engaged and was happy for his friend. “If you need any advice about immigration stuff, just let me know. It’ll be a different process because the Sand is so stringent, but there’s got to be similarities.” 

“Thank you,” Karui says. “Hopefully it won’t be nearly as complicated as your situation.” 

They exchange more congratulations and chat and eat more. As the meal progresses, Shikamaru can sense that Ino’s mood is turning sour. She had been excited when Choji and Karui announced their news, but since then she had looked deep in thought and slowly but surely she was starting to look pretty annoyed. If Shikamaru was estimating correctly, pretty soon Ino was going to blow up. Choji had noticed too, as he was beginning to take meat off the grill and place it on top of his rice bowl, holding it close to his chest to protect it from a potential Ino outburst. 

It finally comes when Sai turns and asks Ino if she’d like more water and then Ino slams her hands down on the table, rattling all their plates and cutlery and the grill itself and demands, “When are you going to ask me to marry you?” 

Sai’s face remains impassive as ever. “Oh? Did you want me to do that?” 

Shikamaru blanches. He can’t believe it. Sai went and done it and now Ino was going to murder him in their regular booth at Barbe-Q. They might never be let into this establishment again. Shikamaru knows Sai doesn’t have full access to his emotions and frequently makes social gaffes, but come on, this one was really going to get him killed. 

But instead of killing Sai where he sits, Ino just stands up and pushes her way out of the booth and storms out of the restaurant. 

Sai blinks. “Should I go after her?” 

“No, let her cool off,” Choji suggests, putting his rice bowl back on the table. 

“I’ll go talk to her,” Shikamaru adds, rising from the table and giving Choji a pleading look that says, ‘please talk sense into Sai.’ Choji nods and Shikamaru heads outside.

Ino is sitting at one of the benches outside of the restaurant, fuming. 

“Hey,” Shikamaru says as he sits beside her. “What’s wrong?” 

Ino just scowls at him. 

Shikamaru sighs. His brain is starting to work out the cause of Ino’s irritation, other than Sai apparently having no idea Ino wanted to get married. 

“Do you feel like you’re letting Asuma down?” 

Her head snaps up. “What?” 

“Asuma told you not to lose to Sakura in love or ninjutsu. The ninjutsu part, well it can’t be helped that Sakura got tutored by one of the three legendary Sannin, but you’ve mastered the Yamanaka clan’s jutsus. But love, well Sakura’s with Sasuke, and you’re seeing all your friends get married.” 

“It’s not that at all,” Ino grumbles, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“It’s not?” 

Ino scowls and they lapse into silence. Shikamaru lets non-judgmental thoughts filter through his head in case Ino decides to start reading his mind so she knows that she can talk to him. 

“Fine!” she huffs. “It’s because of that. I feel like I’m trailing behind everyone and I can’t stand it!” 

Shikamaru blinks at her. “You’re not trailing behind. It’s not a race to get married.”

“It’s not just feeling like I’m letting down Asuma,” Ino grumbles. “It’s… my dad. I feel like I’m letting him down too.” 

Shikamaru’s expression softens. “I understand,” he says softly. 

“Do you really think Sai doesn’t want to marry me?” she asks sadly. 

“He didn’t say he didn’t want to marry you.” Shikamaru points out. “He just said that he didn’t know you wanted him to ask you.” 

She gives him a look and silently asks, ‘is that different?’ Shikamaru contends it is and suggests they go back inside. Ino huffs, but she agrees and they head back to their booth. 

“Beautiful,” Sai stands as soon as Ino and Shikamaru return. 

“Sai?” Ino looks at him quizzically. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t realize you were impatient to get married,” Sai says. “I read that it was rude to get engaged when someone else is getting engaged or married because it makes it seem like you’re showing them up.”

“Oh, Sai, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you.” 

“Your friends are also frequently out of the village,” Sai continues. “I read that most women like to immediately tell their friends so they can brag about getting married and show off their ring, so I thought it might be better to wait.” 

“Sai!” Ino squeals and throws her arms around him. He catches her, wearing one of the most genuine smiles Shikamaru has ever seen. Choji puts his arm around Karui and she leans against him, smiling at the other happy couple. 

Shikamaru’s own smile falters for a minute while he thinks about how much he misses Temari, but he knows she’ll be back soon and probably tease him mercilessly about how he can’t go a day without her and he’ll fluster her back by admitting it’s true.


	9. x is for xenial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rock Lee, Gaara, Kankuro, Temari  
word count: 735
> 
> ** xenial: ** _ adjective, _ of, relating to, or constituting hospitality or relations between host and guest and especially among the ancient Greeks between persons of different cities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy friday! hope you enjoy!

The Village Hidden in the Sand’s introduction to Rock Lee, newly appointed ambassador from the Village Hidden in the Leaves, goes something like this. 

The Fifth Kazekage, Sabaku no Gaara, is taking a walk through the village when, seemingly out of nowhere, a blur of green zips down the street and all of a sudden, the Kazekage is being hoisted into the air by said blur of green, actually a man in a green jumpsuit, and spun around in what looks like a hug. The Kazekage’s ANBU are frozen solid, absolutely aghast and at a loss of what to do. No one has ever pierced their defensive formation, and the Kazekage’s shield of sand didn’t activate, but perhaps this was a result of the man’s inhuman speed. After the man has stopped spinning their village’s leader in dizzying circles, Gaara reaches up to fix his hat, which had gone askew, and said with a soft huff, “Hello, Lee.” 

In addition to Rock Lee’s bizarre introduction to the people of Suna, his physical appearance, manner of dress, and strange rituals did not initially endear him to the people of the village. Certainly no shopkeeper really wanted to see Lee running his five hundred laps around the village square before the sun was even up, much less did they want Lee to pause and talk to them. Rock Lee was entirely too loud for the village. The jonin who shared barracks with him certainly didn’t like getting shown up by Lee’s overzealousness and feats of inhuman strength. What use was ninjutsu or genjutsu when Lee could whoop your ass faster than you could weave signs? Even more annoying was that the Kazekage seemed to favor Lee a lot and frequently sparred with him one on one. 

But gradually, Lee begins to grow on the people, since he proves that he gets on well with children, joining in their games (because he says it’s good for his training) and the kids end up loving him. He endears himself to shopkeepers by carrying multiple heavy loads that would have taken several trips in one go. His taijutsu skills are, of course, second to none and across the board all Sand ninja see improvements in their taijutsu skills. 

His fellow jonin try to haze him a little by taking him out for strange foods thinking that Lee won’t be able to tolerate the aggressively spiced and salted foods of Wind Country, but Lee samples everything with gusto and even praises them for the lack of waste. Indeed, his fellow jonin thought he’d be put off by the offal and salty preserved meats, but Lee had tucked into everything excitedly. Even Kankuro got in on the food bullying and suggested Lee try a spicy fried scorpion - poor creature had been fried to a crisp and then smothered in a lurid red sauce that made one’s eyes water - but Lee had gobbled it up and even bought himself another, claiming it was delicious. After that, the jonin admitted defeat and merrily accepted Lee into their ranks. 

It’s all going swimmingly and then Temari visits from her new home in Konoha to check on her brothers and her replacement. Kankuro is telling her how well Lee has adjusted to life in Suna and how much the locals have taken a shine to him. She’s impressed. She had questions when Gaara requested Lee specifically, but she supposes her youngest brother had his reasons and his choice seemed to be paying off well. It certainly put her at ease knowing that the relationship between the village of her childhood and the village of her married adulthood were in Lee’s capable hands. 

Kankuro opens the door to the Kazekage’s office without knocking and the siblings find that the diplomatic relationship between Suna and Konoha is not the only thing in Lee’s hands. Their youngest brother, the Kazekage himself, is also in Lee’s hands. More like Gaara is half sitting on Lee’s lap and they are attached at the mouth with their arms wrapped around each other like a couple of mating octopi. 

Kankuro and Temari are shocked into silence, Lee is red faced and shrinking in his jumpsuit, but Gaara just levels his siblings with a bland look and asks if they know how to knock.

Suddenly, it was very obvious why Gaara had requested that Rock Lee become the Leaf Village’s new ambassador to Suna.


	10. e is for expect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shikamaru, Kankuro, Gaara  
word count: 730

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's shikadai and ino's birthday and the naruto 20th anniversary was a few days ago so i guess it's fitting this chapter is about pregnancy announcements (small cw for mentions of vomit) 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

The desert heat makes Shikamaru cranky on a good day, but he’s had an exceedingly rough trip so he’s particularly miserable when he arrives in Suna. All he wants to do is stand under an endless stream of water and scrub his problems away, but Suna has a water ration - being a desert and all - so Shikamaru has to settle for a damp towel and quick shower to wash three lousy days off of him. 

He left home in a tizzy, since Temari had been heaving over the toilet when he left. He had tried to wait it out so he could properly say goodbye to her, since this meeting would require he be away for about a week, but she hadn’t stopped vomiting and eventually told him in a pained voice to just leave since he’d be late if he delayed any longer. One of his female cousins had ushered him out the door, reassuring him that they’d take care of Temari and that she would be fine. Shikamaru trusted in his family members, but Temari’s pregnancy so far had been four months of utter hell. It had been such hell they were telling as few people as possible about it because it seemed to be such an unstable situation. They told his mother first because they needed help since Temari’s health had so rapidly declined. Once Temari started showing, they told Choji and Ino - and Ino and Karui were pregnant themselves - and they were momentarily happy they basically ensured the next generation of Ino-Shika-Cho would be formed. 

They had yet to tell Temari’s siblings, and one of Shikamaru’s duties for this trip was to tell them. Between the rotten trip and the state he left his wife in, Shikamaru feels gloomy at the prospect of telling them. Announcing a pregnancy was supposed to be joyous news, but Temari had been so sick, it was hard to feel celebratory. 

“Hey there,” Kankuro greets him when Shikamaru steps into the threshold of the Kazekage’s office. “How was your trip?” 

“It was kinda rough this time,” Shikamaru admits. 

“Damn. Well, you’ll be able to get some rest now that you’re here. Is your lodging okay?” 

“Yeah, it’s fine.” 

“Shikamaru, welcome.” Gaara says when he and Kankuro step further inside. 

“Hey, Gaara.” Shikamaru can feel a pressure starting to build up in his chest, the need to tell Temari’s brothers about her pregnancy, and the anxiety about mentioning that she wasn’t coping very well. 

Gaara is talking. Shikamaru can see his mouth moving, but he can’t hear any words over the roaring in his ears. He needs to just tell them now. 

“Temari is pregnant,” he blurts out. 

Gaara breaks off mid sentence and both the brothers stare at him. 

“Um, congratulations?” Kankuro sounds uncertain. 

“You don’t seem pleased,” Gaara adds cautiously. 

“I am,” Shikamaru says. “I’m really happy. It’s sooner than we were thinking, but I am happy. It’s just… she’s… Temari isn’t having an easy time. She kind of has morning sickness that never goes away, and it’s been rough on her.” 

They’re all silent for a moment and Shikamaru can feel panic rising up his throat. He doesn’t know what to expect from his brothers-in-law after dropping this kind of bomb on them. 

“Well,” Kankuro says, trying to sound dismissive. “Temari is tough. I’m sure she’ll be fine.” 

“You’re right,” Shikamaru agrees in a nervous voice. He mentally kicks himself. He’s set them both on edge now. 

Later, when the brothers are by themselves, Gaara brings up their mother. She died in childbirth, giving birth to him, and it makes him worry.

“It’s different,” Kankuro says. “No one’s going to go and seal a tailed beast inside of her kid while she’s still pregnant.” 

“I know,” Gaara replies. “Even so…” 

“Look, we all knew - all three of us - that one day, someone would have a kid, and we’d all have to confront the death of our mother.” 

“I just wish we could go see her,” Gaara gestures at the tall stacks of paperwork on his desk. “But I doubt it’s possible.” 

“Probably not, but she’s got Shikamaru to take care of her, and apparently a whole army of relatives over there. She’ll be just fine.” Kankuro pats the top of his younger brother’s head reassuringly. 

Shikamaru returns to Konoha with armfuls of medicinal plants harvested from Gaara’s personal greenhouse.


	11. b is for bath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shikamaru, Temari  
word count: 550

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> once again it's only wednesday and i am unreasonably tired
> 
> hope you enjoy!!

Shikamaru would not call himself good at romantic gestures, which is all well and good since Temari isn’t any better at receiving them. They’re a practical couple and they know their love and their bond isn’t based on gooey sentiments. 

That being said, most romantic gestures Shikamaru makes are a result of other people’s prodding. For example, if he visits Ino on the way back from the Hokage’s office, she tends to bully him into buying Temari a bouquet of flowers. Likewise, if he sees Choji after work, he recommends buying Temari the sweets that she likes as a surprise and so Shikamaru goes home with a bag of sweet chestnuts. Shikamaru knows Temari appreciates it, and she shows him her soft side when he makes a little more of a fuss over her. 

Since Temari’s pregnancy has thus far been so difficult, Shikamaru decides he needs to make a little more fuss over his wife and try to make her feel better when he can. So he sucks it up and asks Ino where she gets this particular bubble bath she had been raving about. She teases him mercilessly about it but tells him where she bought it. He goes to the store and gives himself a headache smelling everything to make sure the fragrance is mild enough - strong smells had been sending Temari hurrying to the toilet to throw up so he has to be careful. 

He settles for a milky bath thing that the shop girl suggests. It has almost no scent and will turn the bathwater a little milky instead of bubbly; she chirps enthusiastically about it, saying it has ingredients that are great for softening skin. He buys it and hopes Temari will like it. 

When Shikamaru gets home, Temari is sitting up - a good sign - and reading - a better sign. His aunt, who was helping take care of Temari that day, bids them goodnight as she takes her leave, reporting that Temari had an unusually good day and was even able to keep most of her meals down. Shikamaru goes and runs the bath, adding the milk bath stuff he bought, and returns to his wife. 

“Do you want to take a bath?” 

Temari glances up at him. “Did your aunt not tell you? I took one already.” 

“No, I meant with me.” 

She tilts her head curiously and Shikamaru can feel the back of his neck heating up. “Woman, let me do something nice for you. I’m trying to do something nice for you!” 

“Did I say anything?” she snorts. “Well, help me up, then.” 

Shikamaru carefully helps Temari to her feet and she pats her stomach gently. 

“Kicking?” he asks. 

“No, just checking,” she replies. 

Shikamaru helps her to the bathroom and Temari raises her eyebrows at the bath. Shikamaru can feel himself starting to blush again. “Just let me take care of you a little bit,” he grumbles. 

Temari throws her head back and laughs. “I’m not complaining, but you’re so embarrassed.” 

Shikamaru just grumbles as he tugs his clothes off and helps Temari with hers. Temari sighs happily as they settle into the bath. 

“This is nice, Shikamaru,” she says softly, settling against his chest. He wraps his arms around her and kisses the top of her head. “Thank you.”


	12. s is for smooth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaara, Rock Lee  
missing scene from "blooming a big flower in this small world"  
mature  
word count: 1000

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hellooo happy friday! 
> 
> this chapter is a missing gaalee scene from the other fic in this series "blooming a big flower in this small world" and contains sexual content throughout. there is nothing very explicit but is definitely more mature than any of the other chapters
> 
> i hope you enjoy!

Gaara’s sand has polished his body into a smooth stone. 

His body hair doesn’t grow because of the constant friction of the sand, it clogs the follicles, doesn’t let anything come out. Even his eyelashes grow in sparsely and the hair on his head is thinner than that of his siblings. 

Without his sand armor and without any body hair and without any clothes, Gaara has never felt more exposed and vulnerable, has never felt more naked. Unconsciously, he draws his knees to his chest to try to hide his nakedness. It wouldn’t do to be so focused on his own exposed state and then be surprised by Lee’s scars. That happened the last time they tried to get undressed together, Gaara had seen the scars his sand left on Lee’s arm and he hadn’t been able to think of anything except how unworthy of Lee’s forgiveness and love he was. This time, he had to be prepared to see the scars his sand left on Lee’s leg. 

Lee doesn’t even get his jumpsuit all the way off before Gaara is too distracted to even notice Lee’s extensive scarring because he is far too focused on the bush between Lee’s thighs. Gaara’s own thighs press together - hairless, smooth as alabaster - as he gapes openly at the thick trail of hair that extends from Lee’s belly button down between Lee’s legs to a thicker patch of dark, wiry hair. Gaara tries to remind himself that staring like this is rude, but last time Lee mentioned he actually shaved a lot of his body hair, commenting something strange about how hair made the body less aerodynamic - and Gaara had thought about how aerodynamic that would make him - so Gaara assumed that meant Lee shaved everywhere. 

Lee clears his throat and Gaara tears his eyes away and looks into Lee’s eyes. “It’s a bit uncomfortable to put a razor there,” he says, shyly. “So it gets a bit unruly.” 

Gaara can’t form words so he just spreads his legs. Belatedly, he feels embarrassed by it, but it’s Lee’s turn to stare at him. 

“Oh, Gaara, you’re gorgeous.” Lee says breathlessly, moving to lean over Gaara. 

Gaara lays back against the blanket, heart fluttering nervously in his chest as Lee settles his body between Gaara’s spread legs. 

“In your letter,” Lee’s voice sounds gravelly, “You said you wanted me to embrace you as your lover. Do you still want that?” 

“Yes,” Gaara can barely breathe. 

Lee kisses him and Gaara arches into his touch. Lee’s hands are cupping his face - his large hands with their rough calloused palms and long fingers - and Gaara wants to nuzzle against them. His lips are chapped, but Gaara still licks at Lee’s mouth eagerly, wanting to taste him. Their kiss becomes more feverish as Lee presses his body against Gaara’s. 

It’s all very overwhelming. Gaara spent most of his life touch starved. As a child, no one could even touch him casually because of the sand shield, not that anyone would want to touch him anyway. For the longest time, the only physical interaction Gaara could remember was from Yashamaru, but eventually that faded out of his memory. Then came the experience of pain. Lee first, the swift kick to the back of his head, the shock. That whole fight had exhausted him, pained him, and filled him with bloodlust he couldn’t sate. Then the fight with Uchiha Sasuke, the strike that would have fatally wounded any other, but it was the first time in his life Gaara had ever bled and it was horrifying. And then the fight with Uzumaki Naruto, him bashing their heads together and waking him up, that had hurt too, but then it was like a balm had been put over everything because Gaara’s eyes had been opened to friendship. 

Since then, Gaara had more physical interactions with people - casual affectionate touches from his siblings, handshakes from other leaders, more battles too, and later, searing kisses and long, hard hugs from Lee. But even so, none of those touches were as intimate as this, and never had there been so much skin on skin contact. 

Gaara’s own skin was smooth and unblemished - protected by his sand - but Lee’s body was full of different textures, rough and smooth - raised bumps of scars, dry patches, soft skin - and Gaara was most aware of the rough, scratchiness pressing between his legs along with Lee’s and his own obvious arousals. He bucks up into Lee unconsciously, craving the unfamiliar feeling of Lee’s body.

“Gaara?” Lee pulls away from kissing all over Gaara’s neck and chest. “Are you alright? You’re breathing very heavily and you seem very unfocused. Is everything okay?” 

“Yes,” Gaara says, but his voice shakes. “I’m… fine… I just… I’m not used to… there’s so much skin…” 

“Oh, Gaara! I did not even think of that! I am so sorry!” Lee pulls away from him slightly, just enough to put some distance between their bodies. Suddenly, it’s much easier for Gaara to breathe. “Is this better?” 

“Yes,” Gaara swallows thickly. “I love you, Lee.” 

Lee’s face brightens. “I love you too! Our springtime of youth is about to become a hot and passionate summer!” 

Gaara can feel himself blush even though it’s such a cheesy way to say he and his lover are about to have sex. Gaara reaches up to stroke the side of Lee’s face, and Lee swivels his head to press a fleeting kiss to the side of Gaara’s palm. 

“I trust you,” Gaara says, looking deep into Lee’s eyes. Lee gazes back at him adoringly. 

“Please tell me if anything is uncomfortable for you. I am not experienced, but I will do my best to make you feel good.” Lee says. 

“And please tell me if I do anything to make you uncomfortable as well,” Gaara says.

Lee kisses him again and Gaara pulls him back in close, even wrapping his legs around Lee’s waist and pulling their hips flush together.


	13. v is for vows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shikamaru, Temari, Shikadai, Kurenai, Mirai  
word count: 645

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow we are at the halfway point already 
> 
> also, i know that mirai is not actually supposed to be that much older than shikadai but listen the boruto manga canon and boruto anime canon don't even match we're just going our own way at this point 
> 
> hope you enjoy!!

“Big Bro Shika!” Mirai squeals as the door swings open and throws her arms around Shikamaru’s legs. He scoops her up into his arms and gives her a kiss. 

“Hey there, Mirai! Look at you! You’re growing up so fast!” Shikamaru says. 

“I’m six!” she declares. 

“Wow, time really flies, doesn’t it?” 

“Mirai, let Shikamaru and Temari inside please,” Kurenai’s voice can be heard from deeper inside the house. 

Mirai pouts but Shikamaru carries her farther inside, Temari carrying Shikadai following behind. 

“Shikamaru, Temari, welcome,” Kurenai smiles warmly. “Sit down.” 

“Hi, Kurenai, sorry we haven’t visited sooner,” Shikamaru says. 

“You have a baby now,” she chides. “You can’t come rushing over whenever.” 

Mirai is squirming so Shikamaru sets her down and she trots over to Temari. “Big Sis Tema, is that your baby?” 

“Yeah, do you want to see him?” Temari carefully starts peeling back the blanket that was shielding Shikadai’s face from the wind outside. He yawns widely as he comes into view. Mirai’s eyes widen as she peers at him. 

“He’s so tiny!” 

“He’s only six months old, Mirai.” Shikamaru says. 

“Big Sis Tema, can I hold him?” Mirai asks. 

Temari nods. “Here, hold out your arms, yes, just like that…” Temari carefully guides Shikadai into Mirai’s waiting arms.

Kurenai smiles as Mirai stares at Shikadai’s face. “Time must be flying for you too,” she says to Shikamaru with a soft smile. 

“The last few months have been crazy,” Shikamaru agrees. “He came rushing into the world and honestly, I don’t think I’ve caught my breath since then. He’s an easy baby but most of the time I feel completely at a loss.” 

“Seems to me you’re doing a good job,” Kurenai says. “Mirai’s starting at the Academy in the spring. I don’t know where the time’s gone.” 

“Feels like she was born just yesterday. Shikadai too.” Shikamaru sighs. “Sometimes I wish they were both here,” he adds quietly, so only Kurenai can hear. She knows who he means: his father and Asuma. “Just so they could see how well they’re growing up.” 

Kurenai gives him a misty smile. “I agree.” 

“If Mirai is starting at the Academy soon that means I’m going to start helping with her training,” Shikamaru glances over at Temari with Shikadai and Mirai. Shikadai has woken up and is sitting on Temari’s lap now, looking drowsy. Mirai is leaning on Temari’s knees, almost nose to nose with Shikadai. “I promised Asuma I would.” 

“Oh, Shikamaru, you don’t need to worry about keeping your promises to Asuma,” Kurenai laughs gently. “You’re doing a good job. He would be so proud of you.” 

Shikadai is more awake now and is pulling at Mirai’s face curiously. She’s being very patient and letting him. Shikamaru smiles at them fondly. 

“You know, I always wanted to have two kids, daughter first, then a son. With Temari having such a hard time being pregnant, Shikadai will probably be an only child.” He muses. “While Temari was pregnant I was so sure we were going to have a girl, all according to my plan.”

“I’m sure Mirai has felt like a daughter to you too,” Kurenai says. “You’re the one she’s seen the most out of everyone.” She laughs suddenly. “You’re also the only one whose name she knows for sure! Even now Kiba and Shino are Akakiba and Uncle Buggy.” 

Shikamaru snorts. Somehow he was always Big Bro Shika, but he’d seen Mirai confidently scramble up everyone else’s names.

Mirai picks Shikadai back up and carries him over to Shikamaru. “Hey, Mirai.” 

“Big Bro Shika,” she smiles up at Shikamaru toothily. She lifts Shikadai a little higher in her arms. Shikadai’s facial expression makes Shikamaru want to laugh. He looks so done with Mirai’s fawning. Mirai’s smile widens even more. “Little Bro Shika!” 

Shikamaru thinks he might cry from how cute they both are.


	14. p is for permission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaara, Pakkun (and the other ninken), Ningame, Rock Lee   
word count: 1245

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hellooo it's hump daaay (and i'm not extraordinarily tired it's amazing)
> 
> i hope you enjoy!

Gaara nervously smooths his clothes and hair standing before the door. It’s not like him to be so nervous, but this isn’t an ordinary task he’s attempting to complete today. 

Today he is going to ask Might Gai for permission to court Lee. 

It’s kind of stupid to do it now, when he and Lee have already been in a relationship for a few years, when Gaara had awoken in Lee’s arms today, but it’s a custom in Suna to ask the father of the woman - though of course Lee is a man - for permission to court her. As the Kazekage, Shikamaru had to ask for Gaara’s permission to marry Temari, so technically Lee could not seek a higher level family member than Gaara, so this task of asking permission fell to Gaara. Though Might Gai is not Lee’s biological father, Gaara knows that this man is the closest thing Lee has ever had to one. 

Gaara knocks on the door, and an unfamiliar voice calls out, “Enter!” 

Instead of a person, Gaara walks in and is greeted by a pack of ninja hounds and one large tortoise. One of the ninken sits up at Gaara’s entrance. 

“Lord Kazekage,” it’s the same voice that told him to enter. Gaara wracks his brain and remembers that this is Pakkun, Hatake Kakashi’s personal summon. “What brings you here?”

“I was told I could find Might Gai here,” Gaara answers. “Is he with Lord Sixth?” 

“Neither of them are here right now,” Pakkun says. “But…” 

A booming voice emanating from the tortoise interrupts. “What business have you with Might Gai?” 

“Ningame,” Pakkun grumbles. “Speak respectfully to the Kazekage…” 

“Pardon me,” Gaara says to the tortoise, whose head pops out of his shell looking at Gaara with piercing, calculating eyes. “I had a question to ask of Might Gai.” 

“You may ask me, Young Kazekage,” Ningame declares. “If it is of great import, I will recall Might Gai.” 

Gaara feels a tiny bit itchy under the collar. He expected this encounter to be uncomfortable. He did not actually think that Gai would refuse Gaara’s request, instead he was just afraid of the bone-breaking embrace and shower of manly tears and speech about being in the springtime of his youth. He experienced all of these with Lee in spades. 

“It is in regards to Rock Lee,” Gaara says, hoping that the mere mention of his pupil will convince the tortoise to fetch Gai. 

Ningame sighs. “What did that little rascal do now? He is always getting into trouble…” 

“You’d think he was still twelve with the way you talk about him,” Pakkun grumbles. 

“It is nothing Rock Lee did wrong,” Gaara says quickly. 

“Well then, out with it!” 

Gaara swallows dryly. “I would like to ask for Might Gai’s permission to enter into a romantic relationship with Rock Lee.” 

The silence that descends makes the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. At least with Might Gai himself, Gaara could expect a little noise to accompany his request. 

Ningame pulls himself up to his full height. “Absolutely not!” he roars. 

Gaara is taken aback. 

“Absolutely not!” Ningame repeats. “I will not allow this! How dare you! The insolence of the youth these days! The audacity! Absolutely not! I forbid it!” 

“I… I…” 

“Ningame…” Pakkun groans. 

Ningame rounds on Pakkun. “Am I to accept this boy as the lover of Rock Lee? When this is the very same one who so gravely injured him, nearly killed him? I will not accept this!” 

“Ningame,” Pakkun says placatingly. “That was almost ten years ago now. Clearly, they’ve gotten past that…” 

“A decade is but the mere blink of an eye to a tortoise!” Ningame bellows. “You frivolous creatures with short lifespans may quickly forgive and forget, but I do not! I have not forgotten how this person almost killed Rock Lee and I will never forgive him or consent to this outrageous relationship!” 

Gaara’s knees are wobbling. This was not expected. “I am sorry,” Gaara says. “Truth be told, Lee and I have already been in a relationship. It has been almost four years now…” 

“How dare you!” Ningame screeches. “This will not stand! I demand you sever ties with Rock Lee at once!” 

Gaara’s knees do give out and he falls on them awkwardly. He bows deeply, starting to tremble. “Please, I beg your pardon… please forgive me for my actions in the past… I have changed…” 

“I have lived many years longer than you already, and it is likely my lifespan will surpass yours too, Young Kazekage,” Ningame says dismissively. “People do not change so easily!” 

Gaara stares at the floor, tears threatening to pool in his eyes and cloud his vision. This is nothing like he imagined, but why did he expect things to go well? Gaara himself could barely fathom how Lee could forgive him, of course someone other than Lee would not extend such forgiveness. Gaara was foolish to think otherwise. 

“I’m sorry,” is all Gaara can think to say, still trembling, bowed before a great furious tortoise and a sighing pug. 

“Ease up on him,” Pakkun grumbles. “You’re going to cause an international incident if you keep this up.” 

Suddenly, the door bursts open. “Gai sensei! Are you home? Please, excuse my inter- Gaara-kun?!” And then Lee is there, hauling Gaara up and Gaara lets his tears flow. He feels unbearable pain in his chest looking at Lee’s concerned face. “Gaara! What happened? Are you injured? Why are you crying?” Lee surveys the room. “Pakkun, Ningame-san, what happened here?” 

“Lee!” Ningame booms. “Excellent timing! I must speak to you: I demand that you sever your romantic ties with this man at once!” 

Lee blinks at Ningame, flustered at first, and then he steels his expression. “Ningame-san, you and Gai sensei have always guided me and helped me to walk on the right path. But this one time I must disagree with you! I love Gaara, and I will not break up with him. I do not know why you have come to this conclusion, but I must refuse! I won’t abandon the man I love!” 

“Lee,” Gaara whispers. Lee smiles at him and wipes at his tears. 

“Impudent youth!” Ningame huffs. “In any case, I won’t accept this relationship!” And then he disappears in a puff of smoke. 

Pakkun sighs and presses a paw to his forehead. “Don’t worry, kids, that old codger will come around. You know what else he refused to accept? Living with Kakashi and all of us hounds. Do you know who he lives with now? Gai, Kakashi, and all us hounds.” 

“I am sorry, Lee,” Gaara says. “I was only trying to make your teacher understand my intentions. I did not mean for this to happen.” 

Lee kisses him and Gaara blushes. “Gaara, you have nothing to apologize for! Ningame-san has always been quite strict. I am the one who is sorry that you were so upset by speaking to him. Please, let me reassure you that I love you beyond measure!” 

Gaara smiles at Lee, feeling his tears begin to dry. He can also feel something prodding at his lap so he glances down to see one of the smaller ninja hounds crawling over his legs. 

“Biscuit!” Pakkun sounds utterly appalled. “Are you a simple lapdog now?” 

“Oh fuck off,” Biscuit snaps. “Kid looks sad.” He looks up at Gaara, “Chin up, kid,” and settles down on Gaara’s lap.


	15. t is for temper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shikamaru, Temari  
word count: 630

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello hello! it's the end of the week and now i'm super tired hahaha
> 
> hope you enjoy!!

Shikamaru comes home and Temari is in a foul mood. He can tell from the rigid lines of her body just how royally pissed off she is, and he quickly wracks his brain. It’s not her birthday, nor his. It isn’t their wedding anniversary. So it’s probably not because of something he forgot.

“I’m home,” he says. 

Temari doesn’t even glance at him, just grunts in acknowledgement. 

“Shikadai napping?” 

“Shikadai is with your mother,” Temari answers. Her tone is brisk. 

“Alright,” Shikamaru answers peeling off his jacket. “Are you cooking?” 

“What does it look like I’m doing?” she growls. 

Shikamaru sighs and rubs the back of his neck. “Damn, woman, the temper on you. What’s gotten you so pissed off?” 

Temari doesn’t answer him but he can see his comments have gotten her even more wound up. He sighs again. Since Shikadai’s birth she’d been uncharacteristically docile, something he attributed to raging baby hormones, but as Shikadai was getting older she was showing more of her old aggression. It wasn’t like Shikamaru prefered Temari to be without her spunk, he loved it about her, but the mood swings were hard to handle, mostly because Shikamaru tended to get his ass whupped by his wife when she was moody like this. 

“Tell me what’s wrong,” he says as gently as he can. Even though he knows it’s best to just have it out, he can’t help but feel he’s poking at a bear with a stick. 

It’s a small miracle that Temari has never been the kind of girl who just says that she’s fine when she is obviously irritated by something.

So Temari slams her spoon down and whips around to scowl at her husband. “After you left, Shikadai wouldn’t go down for a nap, threw an hour long temper tantrum, and didn’t calm down until your mother came over. I couldn’t get him to be calm and I couldn’t get him to nap when he’s always been so good at sleeping and it made me upset. Even more so when all your mom had to do was pick him up to calm him down, that’s why I let her take him for the afternoon, because I worked myself up and I feel like a terrible mother.” Temari catches her breath. “And I’m still fat.” 

Shikamaru snorts. “Is that it?” 

Temari looks like she might kill him. “What do you mean, ‘is that it?’” 

“Shikadai’s getting to the age where he’s going to start having temper tantrums. He can’t be an agreeable baby forever. And since you got upset when he wouldn’t calm down or nap, he could probably sense how worked up you were and got more worked up himself. Whereas my mom wasn’t worked up so he calmed back down. It doesn’t mean you’re a bad mother. You’re just stressed out.” Shikamaru walks over to Temari and carefully places his hands on her waist. “And fat? This again?” 

Temari glares at him, but it’s half-hearted. “Why do you make so much sense?” she grumbles. “And I am still fat. My old clothes still don’t fit. He’s almost a year old now.” 

“Temari, you could be as big as Choji and it wouldn’t matter to me. I love you. You’re the mother of our child and you’re a great mom at that. Shikadai won’t remember that one day that you couldn’t get him to stop crying. It won’t make him think any less of you when he’s older and can have thoughts like that.” Shikamaru pulls her into a hug. “A lot of our lives can’t go back to the way they were before he was born.” 

“Well my body isn’t going to be one of them,” Temari grumbles.

Shikamaru just snorts and kisses her hair affectionately. “Troublesome woman.”


	16. w is for wish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rock Lee, Shikamaru, Gaara  
references the sakura hiden (very briefly)  
word count: 1080

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello hello it is monday once again
> 
> i hope you enjoy!

“What is all this?” Lee asks, looking over the stack of Suna newspapers sitting on Shikamaru’s desk. 

Shikamaru pulls the top paper off the stack and rustles it open. There’s a picture of Gaara holding a baby and Lee’s heart skips several beats. He manages to compose himself because the picture isn’t just of Gaara; Sakura is also with him, as are a small group of what Lee assumes are Sand medical ninjas, and they’re standing in front of a new looking building. A sign on the building labels it as a children’s psychiatric hospital. Lee remembers that Sakura had been talking about opening a children’s hospital in Suna like the one she had opened in Konoha for quite some time and finally last year ground had been broken to have it built. 

“At the opening, one of the newspaper people thought it would be great optics for the Kazekage to hold a baby, so he kind of just grabbed one out of some lady’s arms and handed him off to Gaara. Unfortunately, the baby belonged to this woman I’ve seen around at a lot of these events. She’s one of those anti Gaara people and you can guess how she reacted to him holding her baby.” 

Lee frowns. During his times in Suna he had encountered these anti Kazekage types. They were against Gaara becoming Kazekage - even now, many years after the fact - and still viewed him as a monster - even though he was no longer a jinchuriki. Worse still, they adamantly believed that Gaara had not changed, even though he did everything to protect his village, even after everything he did during the war. It pained Lee greatly because Gaara was still so acutely aware of the things he had done when he was younger, and he accepted why some would never forgive him. It made Lee want to shake his fists and scream it wasn’t fair. If they just gave Gaara a chance they’d see that he had changed and that now he was a gentle and kindhearted person who cared deeply about everyone. 

“Anyway, no one expected Gaara to be good with kids and I actually think that newspaper guy hoped the baby would start crying and it would fluster Gaara, but Gaara’s had so much experience with Shikadai that he’s really good with babies. So the baby was perfectly happy being held by him. And the press just ate it up. Every paper in Suna had pictures of Gaara holding the baby. Afterwards the Kazekage’s office was flooded with love letters. The whole place reeked of perfume.” Shikamaru smirks. “To the public, Gaara is still a bachelor. Those poor girls have no idea his type is men in green jumpsuits.” 

Lee flushes. “That does not explain why you have hoarded so many newspapers!” 

“Oh, Temari wants to make a collage. Just to tease him. Gaara was very shy about the whole thing so we’re all having a good time teasing him about it.” Shikamaru laughs.

Lee picks up one of the papers, with the picture of the children’s hospital on the front page. Gaara is holding the baby and smiling softly, eyes on the child and not the camera. It makes Lee long for something that he didn’t know he wanted. He always thought that Gaara looked peaceful holding Shikadai, but it had never made Lee want that for himself. But now Lee really wanted to see Gaara hold his baby, their baby. 

Lee falters, and folds the newspaper back up. It can’t happen. In the Kazekage Manor, Lee and Gaara’s relationship was a bit of an open secret. No one said it out loud, but Gaara’s personal ANBU let Lee through their checkpoints without a second look. But Lee knew that the only member of Gaara’s council who knew about their relationship was Baki, and that a few of the other council members floated the idea of marriage during meetings regularly. So as much as Lee wants a child, and wants to raise that child with Gaara, he knows it’s basically an impossibility. 

Lee writes like a man possessed. All of his friends are having babies and frankly, Lee has been seized by baby fever. So he writes to Gaara, pouring out all his youthful feelings and confessing his desire to have a child of his own. 

“I know that you and I cannot have a child by conventional means,” Lee writes, “and perhaps it is wildly selfish of me, but I desperately wish to have a child of my own. I am not just caught up in the youthful baby fever of my friends! I have given it much thought, and I believe that now would be a good time for me. Please do not be alarmed! There are many ways to have a baby without my taking a wife or having an affair with a woman! I can adopt, or apply for a surrogate at Konoha Hospital! I would never betray you, my love, and I hope you understand that my desire for a child does not mean that you are not enough for me!” Lee bites his pen nib and keeps writing. “I grew up an orphan and perhaps that is why I feel so strongly about raising a child. Please let me know your thoughts. Love, Lee.” 

Gaara’s response comes quickly. Lee unrolls Gaara’s message with a rapidly beating heart. 

“Lee,” Lee can almost hear Gaara’s voice. It makes him shiver. “I could never ask you to postpone your happiness on account of me. I love you passionately, but I am not that selfish. Lately, the Council has been more aggressively hinting at trying to arrange a marriage for me. I have dissuaded them, but there may come a time when I can no longer refuse them. I understand that you want a child, and I want you to do as your heart tells you. I think you will be a great father no matter what. Yours, Gaara.” 

Tears have sprung up in Lee’s eyes. Gaara’s letter is so brief, and Lee can see the ink smudges on the side of the scroll and wonders if Gaara quickly responded to him while in the middle of some other important work. He cries because he has Gaara’s blessing to begin growing his own family. He presses the scroll close to his heart before heading out to Konoha Hospital to inquire with the medics there about his options to become a father.


	17. o is for ours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rock Lee, Gaara  
word count: 695

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> on this cold and rainy hump day (for me at least, maybe someone else is getting nice weather) this story gets its first weird jump in time lol the problem with me putting these in chronological order is that sometimes big jumps happen and this one happens to have a pairing that's the same two chapters in a row but oh well
> 
> hope you enjoy!

The late afternoon sun throws long shadows across the bedroom in the Kazekage Manor. Lee could probably fall asleep like this, with Gaara curled up at his side. But Lee knows they can’t spend all day in each other’s arms, and that Gaara took some valuable time off to have this romantic tryst with him so he’ll soon have to return to his desk and to his duties. Lee has to cherish these moments because he’s no longer the ambassador, he stepped down when his son was born because diplomatic trips kept him out of Konoha for too long. So he rarely gets away to Suna now, and Gaara can rarely come to the Leaf. They make do with letters, but nothing can compare to this. 

“Talk to me,” Gaara says softly, voice low and rumbling against Lee’s chest. Just out of curiosity, Lee had let some of the hairs between his pectorals grow, wondering if Gaara would like it since Gaara was often curious about Lee’s body hair. And Gaara had liked it a lot, currently he was nuzzling Lee there and it felt nice. “If I don’t focus on something, I may fall asleep like this.” 

Lee begins to card his fingers through Gaara’s hair. In spite of Gaara’s efforts, his hair always feels a bit coarse and sandy. “What shall I tell you about?” 

“Anything,” Gaara sighs against Lee’s chest. “How is your son?” 

“Metal is doing wonderfully!” Lee perks up instantly. Many of his letters to Gaara since Metal’s birth had been full of photographs and stories of Metal’s antics. “I cannot believe he is already four years old!”

“Children always grow so quickly,” Gaara agrees. “Temari always says Shikadai is growing too fast.” 

“Sometimes I worry about him though, because he is so shy,” Lee says. “He is always hiding behind my leg and gets nervous when people look at him. I am sure he will outgrow it.” 

“I suppose he could not inherit all of your traits.” 

Lee grins. “That is what Tenten says!”

“Is Tenten watching him while you’re here?” 

“No, she is also on a mission outside of the village, so Gai sensei and Lord Sixth are watching Metal. Gai sensei has been extremely helpful! He is almost like a second father to Metal!” Lee gasps softly. 

Gaara looks up at him. “What’s wrong?” 

“I am so sorry, Gaara!”

Gaara’s brow crinkles. “What for?” 

“For saying that Gai sensei is like Metal’s second father, when I know that you and I… that you cannot…” 

Gaara sits up. “Lee, I am not upset at you for saying something that I’m sure is true. I am sure that Might Gai is very much like a second father to Metal. He’s far too youthful to be like a grandfather.” Gaara makes a face. “As much as I would like to be involved with the upbringing of your son, I cannot. It’s no one’s fault that it’s like this. So how could I be upset about what you’ve said?” 

“Gaara,” Lee takes one of Gaara’s hands in his. Gaara’s hands are still as soft and smooth as the first time Lee held them in his with one exception now, a small callus on his finger from many hours of holding a pen. “I want you to know that I still think of Metal as our son. One day, when he is older and can understand, I will tell him about you.”

Gaara squeezes his hand and settles back into Lee’s arms and shuts his eyes. “I hope that one day I will be able to get to know your son.” 

“I thought you didn’t want to fall asleep,” Lee says nudging Gaara. 

“I’ve changed my mind.” Gaara says, resting his head on Lee’s chest again. 

“You shouldn’t leave all your important work,” Lee says. 

“I’ll get to it tomorrow,” Gaara replies. “Tonight, I just want to be with you. You won’t be here tomorrow.”

Lee kisses the top of Gaara’s head. “Then sleep, I’ll still be here when you wake up.” 

Gaara nods and curls up closer. Lee wraps his arms around Gaara and thinks he never wants to let go.


	18. c is for chocolate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shikamaru, Temari, Choji, Mirai   
word count: 680

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy friday!! i am so sleepy, it has been a very long week hahaha
> 
> i hope you enjoy!!

It’s Valentine’s Day in Konoha and it seems every woman in the village is rushing around with boxes of chocolate looking for the right time to give it to the person they’ve been crushing on. Already Shikamaru has been bumped into several times by blushing genin who have been running around staring at the ground. Normally, it would make him grouchy, but this morning he saw what looked suspiciously like chocolate baking ingredients shoved in the back of one of the kitchen cabinets, so he’s cautiously optimistic that Temari is making him chocolates.

Shikamaru runs into Choji, who has an armful of chocolates, and they walk together. 

“Don’t tell me you bought those for yourself?” 

Choji laughs. “Oh no, these are for Karui. Sweet things should be shared!” 

Shikamaru groans. “Do you think I should get something for Temari then?” 

Choji scratches his chin. “Hmm. Oh, is that Mirai over there?” 

It is Mirai. She’s positively surrounded by girls with chocolates and she looks so embarrassed she’s ready to develop Earth Release and bury herself in the ground. 

“Mirai-san!” one girl, who is possibly blushing harder than Mirai currently is. “Good luck on the upcoming Chunin Exams! Please, accept this!” and she thrusts a box of chocolates into Mirai’s hands and then runs off, covering her face with her hands. 

The rest of the girls do this and eventually Mirai gets left holding a small mountain of chocolate and looking ready to pass out from embarrassment. 

“I never thought she’d grow up to be a lady killer,” Shikamaru snorts. “I still remember the day she was born.”

Shikamaru had watched Mirai grow up, saw how every year her hair got darker and darker until it was the same raven black as her mother’s. She inherited her father’s chakra nature and her mother’s talent for genjutsu and was an exceptional student. She had a serious head on her shoulders and tended to overdo it to the point where Shikamaru wondered when the little girl who never got anybody’s name right grew up so fast. Likewise, Shikadai was growing like a weed and Shikamaru was left wondering where the time goes. 

“Do you want to tease her a little bit?” Shikamaru whispers to Choji who just shrugs and decides to follow his lead. 

“Mirai!” 

“Shikamaru sensei!” Mirai says. “You’re just in time! Please, could you take some of this chocolate?” 

Shikamaru quickly pinches Choji’s arm to keep him from agreeing. “I couldn’t! What do you think Temari would do to me if I came home with chocolates from other girls?” 

Mirai pales. “But… but… they’re from me!” 

“I’m sure they’re all addressed to you, but they’re from others.” 

Mirai pouts, but seems to be weighing her options. Temari had helped Mirai hone her long distance wind jutsu and so Mirai had seen first hand how devastatingly powerful Temari was. 

She turns her big eyes to Choji. “Choji-san?” 

Choji smiles apologetically. “Sorry, Mirai, as you can see, my arms are full myself. Why don’t you share them with your mom? Everything tastes sweetest when shared!” 

Mirai brightens immediately. “You’re right! Thank you, Choji-san!” 

Shikamaru can barely contain his laughter. Mirai is so serious, even about the little things. 

“Please excuse me, Shikamaru sensei, Choji-san. I must be heading home!” 

Shikamaru and Choji wave as she scurries off, mountain of chocolate in tow. He and Choji part ways as they reach their homes and when Shikamaru goes inside, “I’m home,” Temari isn’t there, but in their kitchen there’s a tray of freshly made chocolates with a note for Shikadai to not touch it. Shikamaru smiles to himself. Temari’s cooking has continued to improve throughout their marriage and this year she’s attempted molded chocolates. They look beautiful and when he pops one in his mouth, it’s just as delicious as it looks. 

Later, when Temari comes back home from the shop, Shikamaru grabs her to give her a kiss and she just laughs and lightly elbows him, telling him if he wants to make her feel good he’ll carry the rest of the groceries inside.


	19. g is for game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shikamaru, Temari, Shikadai  
word count: 820

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's already monday again... i almost forgot haha 
> 
> hope you enjoy!

They don’t often get to have evenings like this, sitting across from each other, the only sound the clacking of pieces on the shogi ban. Shikamaru works so late and with Shikadai in the Academy now, on days when Temari doesn’t have work outside the house she spends her time alone. When she was younger, she thought living like this would drive her crazy, that she’d resent a marriage that made her a housewife, but she doesn’t mind this. Maybe it’s because she married Shikamaru and he lets her do as she pleases, but Temari finds she doesn’t mind this way of living. 

“Hey, where’s Shikadai?” she asks. 

“He went out to play with his friends.” Shikamaru answers. 

Temari frowns. “You should have never bought him that stupid game.” 

Her husband shrugs. “It’s still a cooperative strategy game and he plays with his friends. Learns strategy and gets to socialize. It’s a win-win.” 

“It’s not like this,” she gestures at the shogi ban. “It’s going to melt his brain into a puddle.” 

“You sound so old fashioned,” Shikamaru snorts. “He’s still a kid. Let him have fun.” 

“You should be teaching him how to play this.” 

“I will. He has to want to learn it himself. He’ll grow into it. I had to grow into it too.” 

Temari loses and they reset the game. The clacking of tiles fills the silence and Temari sighs softly. Shikamaru glances up at her. 

“You’re too soft with him,” Temari says. “He’s got to get tougher.” 

It’s hard for her to say. She loves Shikadai. She loves all the soft parts of him that come from his father and a part of her never wanted him to grow up. She wanted him to stay a toddler, holding onto her skirt and needing her. Temari never thought she’d have a powerful maternal instinct, but she would raze entire villages to protect her son. They might be in a time of unprecedented peace, a peace her husband works tirelessly to maintain, but the world is still harsh and Shikadai is going to get hurt one day. She wants him to be ready. She wants him to be strong. 

“He’s still young,” is Shikamaru’s answer.

“He has a tough future ahead of him. Whether he’s the head of this clan or the next Kazekage, he has a hard road.” 

“Woman, he’s a little kid. He’s not taking over the clan anytime soon. Gaara’s still young and so Shikadai is not being made Kazekage soon either.” Shikamaru reaches across the board to take her hand. “What’s making you worried?” 

“My brothers aren’t any closer to getting married or producing male heirs,” Temari says. “The Council doesn’t want to lose our bloodline, but they really won’t want to accept Shikadai even if he’s the only option. The future will be hard for him. In Suna, they don’t respect men unless they’re strong. And even here, Shikadai is going to be clan head one day. It’s a lot of responsibilities. He needs to start learning proper discipline. He needs to learn that life won’t be all fun and games.” 

Shikamaru strokes his chin. He’s starting to grow a beard but at the moment it’s still just stubble. “I understand where you’re coming from, but it doesn’t change the fact that he’s still a little boy.” He squeezes her hand. “We didn’t get to have normal childhoods because our villages were constantly under threat, war was always around the corner. You especially didn’t have a normal childhood. I know you always had to fight to survive. But now it’s different. Our son is growing up in a generation that’s totally different from ours. I want him to play with his friends. Of course I want him to be a great ninja, I want to pass on the techniques of the Nara clan, but I hope he never has to use them in a real life or death situation.”

Temari nods slowly, soaking in Shikamaru’s words. He gives her hand another squeeze. 

“He has plenty of time to grow into things. Don’t worry.” 

The front door swings open and Shikadai calls into the house, “I’m home!” When he walks out onto the porch, Temari crosses her arms. 

“And where were you?” 

Shikadai sits beside her and rests his head against her shoulder. “With Boruto and Inojin. We were playing ninja. It so wasn’t fair, Boruto made a shadow clone to even out the teams.” He looks earnestly at his dad. “Dad, will you start teaching me the Shadow Possession tomorrow?” 

Shikamaru grins. “Sure thing, kid.” 

Temari kisses the top of Shikadai’s head and he squirms. “Mom, what are you doing?” 

“Nothing,” she murmurs, petting the top of his head. 

“Mom!” 

And despite Temari’s feelings about wanting Shikadai to become stronger, whenever he leans on her like he’s still a toddler, she wants him to stay as soft as he is right now.


	20. u is for urban

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaara, Rock Lee  
word count: 700

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and now back to my regularly scheduled midweek exhaustion...
> 
> hope you enjoy!

Gaara stares up at the massive cell tower being erected in his village. He shivers slightly, despite it not being the least bit cold. He remembers when he was widely regarded as a relic of the past that ought to be destroyed. He knows a certain few still hold this belief about him, unfortunately it troubles Lee more than it troubles Gaara. Seeing his village racing towards the modern age makes him uneasy, as though suddenly the people will turn on him again. A person so tethered to the past can’t bring the village into the future, they’ll say, and then they’ll run him out of the village. 

It’s an irrational, paranoid thought of his, but it plagues him more and more. 

“Lord Kazekage!”

“Please, Lee, just call me Gaara.” 

Lee shakes his head. “We are in front of many people, it would only be appropriate to use your formal title!” 

Gaara shrugs. “I know you won’t be persuaded. What is it?” 

“I would like to show you something in your office!” 

Gaara tilts his head. “That’s very forward of you considering you won’t call me by my name in front of people.” 

Lee’s face turns bright red. “Gaara!” he stammers. “I did not mean anything like that!”

“Then what did you mean?” 

“Lord Kazekage, please just follow me!” Lee is still blushing furiously. 

Gaara follows Lee back to his office inside Kazekage Manor. In addition to his regular desk, someone has set up a computer desk.

“I wanted to show you how to use the electronic mail system! I have a computer at my home now too, so we can send each other emails!” Lee pauses and his brow crinkles. “Well, I suppose it would not be wise to send our usual love letters by this method, but perhaps I could email you updates about Metal! It is very easy to attach pictures directly from my camera!” 

“I would like that,” Gaara agrees. 

Lee beams. “Excellent!” 

Lee continues to chatter excitedly as he shows Gaara how to use the computer. “Shikamaru mentioned he has been petitioning for a railroad to be built between our villages. It will probably take quite some time to be built, but I heard from him that it would cut the trip down to a matter of hours!” Lee smiles at Gaara softly. “It would make getting away for a visit much easier.” 

“That would be wonderful,” Gaara says. 

“And I could bring Metal!” Lee adds excitedly. “I have thought about it, but the trip is difficult, and Metal would not be able to keep pace with me at his age. But a train would make it much easier for both of us!” 

“It would. You do always worry me when you sprint across the desert like you do.” Gaara rests his hand against Lee’s forearm. For some reason, he’s torn the sleeves off his jumpsuits to show off his arms. Gaara’s only complaint is the gawking from other people. It makes him bristle and an urge rises up in him to make it known that Lee is his. 

Lee takes Gaara’s hand in his and kisses the back of it. “I would run five hundred laps around this village in peak heat if it meant I could wake up to your youthful embrace every morning!” 

Gaara leans forward in his seat. “Perhaps, you could youthfully embrace me now.” 

Lee blushes, but he kneels in front of Gaara and captures his lips in a heated kiss. 

The door to Gaara’s office opens and then slams shut. Out in the hallway, Kankuro bellows, “Oh for fuck’s sake!” 

The following week, Gaara’s computer chimes with a new email notification. He sits down and opens the message from Lee that contains a picture of Metal at the table, a mountain high pile of curry sitting before him. 

“We are enjoying a youthful dinner!” Lee writes. “The next time I see you, I will make you a delicious, youthful curry as well!” 

Gaara smiles as he slowly types back, “I look forward to enjoying your cooking.” 

Even though the cell tower had made him anxious as it was being built, Gaara can’t deny he has found it very useful.


	21. l is for looks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shikamaru, Shikadai  
word count: 570

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy friday! i'm off to go do the assignment i have due soon that i've been procrastinating on all week TT
> 
> hope you enjoy!

It’s one of Shikamaru’s rare days out of the office. It’s not really a day off, since he was at the Academy helping the students train, but being out in the fresh air sure beats sitting in the stuffy Hokage’s office and being eaten alive by paperwork. 

He sends his shadow slithering across the ground and catches Shikadai. Shikadai scowls at him. When he makes that face, he looks like Temari, not that Shikamaru would ever say that out loud though. 

“What?” Shikadai complains as Shikamaru walks them towards each other. 

“Where are you trying to sneak off to? Playing video games? Your mom’s going to skin us both if we don’t come home on time for dinner.” 

“What a drag,” Shikadai grumbles. Shikamaru releases his shadow and Shikadai slouches. Now Shikadai looks just like him. 

Despite the gripe, they fall into stride as they head home, the sun setting and turning the air around them warm and orange. 

“Your Shadow Possession is coming along really nicely,” Shikamaru says. “It’ll be a big help when you take your graduation exam, I bet.” 

“Yeah,” Shikadai says noncommittally. 

“I noticed you were staring at Inojin a lot.” 

Shikadai’s shoulders pull up towards his ears. “I wasn’t.” 

“Well, you were looking in his direction a lot.” 

Shikadai pulls another face. “It’s because everyone else hogs him. We’re going to be on the same genin squad if we graduate. We don’t really have a choice. We’re going to be the new Ino-Shika-Cho with Chocho, so we should be training together at the Academy too. But everyone is always hogging Inojin because they think his drawings are cool.” 

“Are they cool?”

“Yes,” Shikadai sounds grouchy. 

“Don’t worry,” Shikamaru ruffles his son’s hair. “You guys are destined to be in the same genin squad, so you won’t have to fight over Inojin with anyone but Chocho.” 

“I’m not fighting over anyone,” Shikadai sulks. “I’m just keeping an eye on him for Auntie Ino.” 

Shikamaru raises an eyebrow. “Did she say something?” 

“No, it’s just that…” Shikadai makes another face. He’s starting to look like Temari again when she’s in a bad mood. “He’s so tiny. And skinny and pale. He’s like a girl. I just think I should protect him, that’s all.”

Ever since he’d gotten into the double digits in age, Shikadai had started growing like a weed. Even if it was a bit early for boys to have growth spurts, and even though Shikadai was born early, he was still taller than most of the kids his age. Injoin in comparison, who was born full term after a peaceful pregnancy, was smaller than most boys his age. He was even as small and as thin as some of the girls. Though it was no wonder considering that Ino and Sai were always rather slim themselves. 

Of course, another thing Inojin had inherited from his parents was a sharp tongue (and sadly, Sai’s utter lack of tact). 

“Don’t underestimate him. Even if he’s small now, he’s inherited two very cool styles of jutsu. He’s going to be very strong.” He nudges his son. “Who knows? When you get a little older, he might get taller than you. Looks can be deceiving.” 

Shikamaru notices Shikadai’s red ears and smiles. 

“Whatever,” Shikadai grumbles. “I wasn’t underestimating anyone. Or even looking at him that much!” 

Shikamaru just hides his grin at the embarrassed look on his son’s face.


	22. i is for iron

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaara, Rock Lee  
references different parts of shippuden and boruto  
word count: 1410

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello hello! i think this is the longest of all the chapters... also another favorite of mine!
> 
> hope you enjoy!

Lee reaches out to give Gaara a hug, but when he pulls Gaara against his body, Gaara lets out a soft hiss of pain. 

“Gaara?” Lee pulls away immediately. Gaara is grimacing and holding his shoulder. “My love, are you hurt? What happened to you? Should I call a medic?” 

“I am fine. Don’t call anyone.” Gaara frowns. “Actually, sit down.” 

Lee sits across from Gaara at his desk. Gaara tents his fingers and rests his chin on them, looking pensive. 

“I must speak to you about something.”

Lee’s stomach begins to churn anxiously. “Please tell me what is on your mind!” 

Gaara purses his lips together and then looks into Lee’s eyes. “There is a child,” he says, “that I want to adopt.” 

Lee blinks. “Oh, is that all? Gaara, I would be ecstatic if you became a father! You encouraged me to go forward with becoming a father myself, and Metal has been a wonderful blessing! If the time is right, then you should do it!” 

Gaara stares at him, then smiles. “Ah, I don’t know why it vexed me so much to think about telling you.” His cheeks have turned a faint shade of pink. 

“Why don’t you tell me about the child you are thinking of adopting?” Lee says eagerly. 

“His name is Shinki,” Gaara begins searching for something on his desk. “He is an older child. If I had to guess, he is probably close to Metal in age.” Gaara finally pulls a sheet of paper from a pile. He slides it over to Lee. There is a picture of a severe looking child with face paint streaked on his cheeks. There are accompanying notes, indicating that the child is an orphan and that no records of his birth are anywhere in the (now digitized) Suna hospital system. 

“Having no hospital record doesn’t mean anything,” Gaara says. “Plenty of women still give birth at home, and in the tribes that live farther out in the desert, keeping written records is rare. He may have originated from there, but I sent people to investigate and none can remember such a child.” 

“How did you find him?” Lee asks. 

“During a sandstorm, a disturbance was reported in the city. There were reports of an attack.” Gaara frowns. “I went to investigate myself because the report stated the assailant was using Iron Sand.” 

Lee’s mind pulls a blank. He tries to race through his mental notes, questioning if he has heard of Iron Sand before and what it is. 

“You might not have heard of it because the most famous user of Iron Sand died long before you or I were even born,” Gaara says. 

“Oh! Who was it?” 

“The Third Kazekage.” 

“The Kazekage before your father?” 

Gaara nods. “Lee, what I am about to tell you is classified. Even among the Suna Council this is not well known.” 

Lee salutes enthusiastically. “My lips are sealed! I won’t breathe a word of this to anyone!” 

Gaara’s lips quirk up into a smile. “During the rule of the Third Kazekage, he vanished suddenly without a trace. No one could track where he had gone, and as the village could not be left without a leader, my father was elevated to the position of Kazekage. Do you remember when I was kidnapped by the Akatsuki? It was during that time the truth about what happened to the Third Kazekage came to light.” Gaara rests his chin on the back of his hand. “He was killed and turned into a human puppet by Sasori of the Red Sand. Granny Chiyo and Haruno Sakura fought it. Our puppet corps recovered all of Sasori’s puppets, including the Third Kazekage. Kankuro sealed it away.” 

Lee pales. “That… that sounds like a terrible fate.” 

“Since his disappearance, there have been rampant rumors about what happened to him. The facts have been kept from the public because of the reaction it would cause. The people of Suna are still infuriated by the desecration of graves and corpses that happened during the war.” Gaara sighs. “The appearance of this child has caused quite a stir.” 

“I can imagine…” 

“A common belief is that Shinki is a reincarnation of the Third Kazekage and he was destroying the city center because he felt the village wronged him by not searching more diligently and appointing a new Kazekage so quickly. Others believe he is a descendant of the Third Kazekage, but that would not explain why he was alone, with no written record of him anywhere.” 

Lee watches Gaara cross his arms over his chest, brow furrowed. 

“When I went to see what was happening during the storm, I saw a scared child. I felt as though I was looking at myself. I thought, if I had the opportunity to help this child, to keep him from turning his fear of the world into hate for it, maybe I can save him. So I went to him and hugged him, even though he attacked me.” Gaara reaches up to press against his shoulder. “I let him wound me so he would know he didn’t need to fear me. I told him I would teach him to control his powers.”

Lee could cry. Many times Gaara had spoken about his desire to help children who were growing up in conditions Gaara himself faced as a child, to save them from long, terrible years of loneliness and help them. And now he was able to do something for a child who even had abilities like him!

“I have been working with him for a few months now,” Gaara adds. “Not on ninjutsu, but I let him help me in the greenhouses.” 

“That must be nice! I am sure that Shinki is healing among all the youthful plants and flowers you are growing!” 

“Yes, Shinki is quite fond of gardening. I asked him if he would like to become my family officially, and he wanted that.” Gaara smiles softly. “Of course, the Council was not entirely happy about it.” 

Lee’s shoulders slump. “They are very picky about finding a proper heir, aren’t they?” 

Gaara nods. “At first, they were not happy about Shinki not having any blood relation to me or my siblings, and that Shinki would be a worse alternative to Shikadai. However, they’re slowly coming around. Some have been swayed easily, and simply because Shinki is obviously of the Sand Village. He uses our techniques, including Magnet Release, and he even shows great interest in learning to use puppets. Shikadai, on the other hand, primarily uses Nara Clan jutsu. For them, it’s simply a matter of national pride.” 

“And the others?” 

Gaara smiles a little more broadly. “The traditionalists have luckily been swayed by the rumors floating around the village. Additionally, they are not privy to the Third Kazekage’s fate, so they have bought into the idea that Shinki is descended from him. That would make him a part of our clan, and means he shares in our blood, so he can rightfully become the heir. One by one, they are agreeing to the adoption.” 

“This is wonderful news!” Lee’s eyes sparkle with tears. 

“There is another thing,” Gaara says, looking rather pink again. 

“Yes?” 

“If the Council approves and Shinki becomes my son, becomes my heir,” Gaara licks his lips. “The pressure on me to find a wife will disappear.” 

Lee freezes, not quite sure if he’s understanding. 

“The Council was never interested in finding me a bride, what they wanted was an heir, and for them, one could only be had through a conventional marriage. If they accept Shinki, they will have their heir. There will no longer be any need for me to marry.” 

Lee’s heart is beating rapidly in his chest. Could this be true? Would the simmering threat of Gaara being married off, the fear that Gaara would no longer be his disappear? 

“Oh Gaara,” Lee croaks. “I hope the Council approves the adoption! You will be a wonderful father! I am sure in Shinki’s heart you are already the best father he could ask for!” 

Gaara rises from his seat and comes around to Lee, cupping his face in his hands. Lee has always been enamored with Gaara’s hands, compared to his own rough ones, Gaara’s were so soft and small. 

“I love you,” Gaara says, and leans in to kiss Lee. Lee pulls Gaara onto his lap and Gaara huffs softly against his lips.


	23. k is for kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Temari, Shikamaru, Shikadai, Inojin  
word count: 580

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello hello! hope you enjoy this chapter!

“Have seen your son?” Temari asks.

Shikamaru looks up from his newspaper. “What did he do?” he asks warily. “You only call him my son if he’s done something to make you mad.” 

Temari huffs. “His chores. He didn’t do them.” 

“He said he did them,” Shikamaru says. “I warned him before he left.”

“Well he didn’t do them,” Temari grouches. “Where’d he go?”

“He said he was going into the woods with Inojin.” 

Temari sighs and makes her way to the woods, internally fuming. If Shikadai thought he was going to get out of doing his chores by hiding in the woods with the deer he was sorely mistaken. Temari was the matriarch and she had grown to learn the Nara woods like the back of her hand. She was going to find him and she was going to flay him. 

One of the does ambles up to Temari and she pauses to stroke her neck. She probably wasn’t supposed to have a favorite deer in the herd, but Sweetheart - named for the heart shaped white spot of her forehead - was Temari’s favorite. They’d met shortly after Temari and Shikamaru got married, and while Shikamaru was giving her a tour of the woods, Sweetheart came up and headbutted him. Temari sensed a kindred spirit in the doe, so she quickly became her favorite.

“Hi, Sweetheart,” Temari says, stroking her neck. “Have you seen my boy?” 

Sweetheart lifts her head and indicates the path leading farther into the woods. 

“Thanks, Sweetheart,” Temari smiles and pats her again. “I’ll come back and see you soon.” 

Temari continues on the path through the woods, feeling somewhat annoyed that Shikadai migrated so far into the woods. She’s basically in the heart of it now when she finally spots them. 

Temari is about to barge in and give her son what for, when she sees Shikadai push Inojin against a tree. She pauses and conceals herself, waiting to see what plays out.

“I really like you!” is what Shikadai basically yells in Inojin’s face. Temari wants to snort. Her son has a fire in his eyes that’s all hers. “I like you as more than just a friend.” 

Temari smiles to herself. Her boy really has grown up. At least he’s bold, she thinks to herself. 

She doesn’t hear Inojin’s response but she takes a peek at them again, they’re hugging each other tightly and kissing. Temari decides to leave them on their own, trusting the boys to not do anything stupid - Shikadai should know better than to do anything questionable, he is her son after all. 

“Did you find him?” Shikamaru asks when Temari returns to the house. 

She shakes her head. “No, I didn’t. He did do some of his chores, so I guess I can’t be that mad.” 

Shikamaru stares at her. “Are you feeling alright?”

Temari just snorts and gives her husband a quick kiss. “I’m fine.” 

“Woman,” Shikamaru calls after her as she heads to their bedroom. “You’re acting weird.” 

Temari ignores him and smiles to herself. Her boy has a crush on Inojin. It could cause a bit of a hullabaloo between their clans, but Temari couldn’t care less. She’d made it abundantly clear to the stuffy Nara elders that she had no qualms blowing the entire Nara settlement down with a gust of wind, and she reckons Ino has some similarly strong opinions about things happening in her own clan. 

She just wants Shikadai to be happy.


	24. a is for admire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaara, Rock Lee  
word count: 795

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy friday! can you believe we're almost at the end here? i can't!
> 
> hope you enjoy!

Lee has been thrumming with excitement since it was announced that the annual Gokage Summit was to be held in the Leaf Village. Even if Lee found himself on duty that day, he knew Gaara would be in the village and that they’d both be able to slip away and have some time for themselves. 

Gaara is laying in his arms now, curled up on Lee’s chest in his narrow bed, stroking two fingers through the patch of hair growing between Lee’s pecs. He looks sleepy and content, his eyes half shut, hair tousled. Lee feels a swell of pride knowing that he was the only one who got to see Gaara like this, completely lax and free of worry. 

“Talk to me or else I’ll fall asleep,” Gaara’s voice rumbles through Lee’s chest. 

Lee kisses the top of Gaara’s head affectionately. “What shall I tell you about?” 

“Anything,” Gaara says, closing his eyes and nestling closer. “How is Metal?” 

“He is doing well! He is busy with a mission today which is why we have the house to ourselves!” Lee smiles brightly. “Actually, he was very excited about the Gokage Summit.” 

“Why’s that?” 

Lee laughs. “He has never really outgrown his shyness so I got him a book about all of the Kage throughout history! It is full of information about all of their exploits and deeds!” Lee’s brow crinkles. “The book does gloss over some of the more controversial Kage, though. But he was quite fascinated and he was very excited to get to see all of the Kage arriving in the village!”

Gaara hums softly. “Yes, that would be exciting if he admires them greatly.” 

“Actually,” Lee blushes. “He is a great admirer of yours, Gaara-kun.” 

“Me?” Gaara opens his eyes. 

“In fact, I was hoping that Metal might grow to admire you from reading that book, but to my surprise, he was so taken with you he grilled me with questions all evening about you! I thought if he became a bit curious about you, it would be a good way to tell him about our relationship, but instead he was asking me if I knew all of these facts about you.” He laughs. “I felt so flustered I didn’t know how to answer! But it does make me happy that my son admires you so much! He is getting to the age where he has questions about our family, so I have been waiting for the right time to tell him about us.” 

“Has he asked you very many questions?” Gaara asks. 

“They have mainly been about his mother and why he doesn’t have one.”

Gaara shifts to look at Lee. “What have you told him?” 

“Oh! It was very easy to explain! I told him there are all kinds of families!” Lee runs his fingers through Gaara’s hair. “Doesn’t Shinki ask questions about his family?” 

Gaara shakes his head. “He’s a very serious child. He knows that I adopted him so he doesn’t ask questions like that. Whenever he goes out on missions he tells me very solemnly that he won’t do anything to embarrass me.” Gaara huffs a small laugh. “Sometimes I wish he would relax more, but it’s his personality.” 

“I am sure he will become a great Kazekage one day! You’ve been doing a wonderful job raising him!” 

Gaara hums softly and trails his fingers down Lee’s chest. “I still have some time before I’ll be missed,” he says. 

“Would you like to go again?” Lee asks. He used to hate to ask this way because it seemed so coarse and like a line a character in one of Lord Sixth’s dirty novels would use, but when Lee had tried to use his usual flowery language confidently telling Gaara he could go another round because “the lotus of Konoha always blooms twice!” Gaara’s face had gone unbelievably red and he asked Lee to please not put it that way. 

So Lee had gotten used to being a bit coarse with Gaara, not that Gaara minded at all. 

Lee knows that Gaara has to leave but it doesn’t stop him from being a little bit of a nuisance as Gaara is trying to get dressed. 

“Lee,” Gaara says, trying to sound severe but failing because he keeps leaning into Lee’s touch.

“Won’t you stay longer?” Lee asks, rolling onto his side. 

Gaara’s eyes rake over him and his lips purse like he’s really considering it. “I will be missed,” he says reluctantly. His lips quirk up. “Anyway, your son might not admire me as much if he comes home and catches us in bed together. It would be quite a surprise for him.” 

Lee groans, but he lets Gaara get dressed and comb his hair in peace.


	25. q is for queen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shikamaru, Mirai  
briefly references the konoha shinden: steam ninja scrolls arc  
(also, this was written before the suna arc in the boruto anime aired)  
word count: 400

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello hello! this is the second to last chapter! i can't believe it really, time flies! 
> 
> thank you so much for your support and readership, and i hope you enjoy!

Mirai is sitting across the shogi ban, brow knitted in concentration. She’s losing, but Shikamaru can see the wheels turning in her head. She’s thinking her way out of the trap Shikamaru has set with his own pieces. She makes a few decisive moves, but unfortunately for Mirai, Shikamaru is still two hundred steps ahead of her so he can still pick apart her strategy and win. Mirai pouts and Shikamaru resets the board for them. 

“Asuma could never beat me either,” Shikamaru snorts. 

They’re halfway through another game and Mirai is practically curled up on herself out of frustration. 

“Big Bro Shika,” she says suddenly. 

Shikamaru glances at her. It’s been quite some time since she’s called him that and not sensei. 

“Yeah?” 

She crosses her arms and looks at him with a look of intense concentration. “If the King is the unborn children of the village who will inherit the Will of Fire, is there a Queen? I know there isn’t one in shogi, but in some other game…?” 

Shikamaru scratches his chin. When he and Temari were honeymooning, they had spent the night at an inn and played a foreign board game similar to shogi. That game had a queen piece, and it was the most powerful piece on the board, even though the objective was still to capture the king piece, which in contrast was much less powerful. Both he and Temari had puzzled over the chessboard before attempting to play a few games and they ended up splitting the number of matches won and lost evenly. 

He glances into the house. Temari has her fan open for cleaning and Shikadai is sitting across from her, staring intently at Temari’s movements. He had mentioned wanting to properly learn Wind Style from her, but Shikamaru wondered if he wanted to learn to cast wind jutsu with a fan too. Shikadai’s eyes follow Temari’s methodical movements and he can see that he’s mentally cataloguing everything she’s telling him. 

Shikamaru smiles to himself and tells Mirai, “That’s another one you’ll understand when you’re older.” 

“Aww,” Mirai sulks. “Wait til I’m older again? Lord Sixth and Gai-san said that as well.” 

Shikamaru tilts his head in confusion. 

“We visited the sacred grounds from the book Lord Sixth likes,” Mirai explains. “What was it… Makeout Paradise?” 

Shikamaru almost chokes on his spit as he thinks of Asuma spinning in his grave.


	26. n is for neck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Temari, Shikamaru, Shikadai  
word count: 690

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's the final chapter!! thank you so much for your readership on this fic, it means a lot! 
> 
> i hope you enjoy this chapter!! thank you all so much for reading!!

Because Shikadai is so smart, he must think there’s an awful lot he can get away with, but Temari always knows when he’s being lazy and cutting corners because he’s her boy. She knows when instead of feeding the deer properly he just dumps out a bag of deer feed, she knows when he hides the stuff she told him to pick up off the floor under his bed, and she especially knows when he’s skived off his homework or training in favor of playing video games with Boruto and Inojin. She still wishes Shikamaru would be harder on him, but her husband’s busy enough as it is so discipline falls to Temari’s hands. 

Shikadai must think he’s pulled the wool over his parents’ eyes about his relationship with Inojin, but he’s never caught on to the fact that Temari saw them that day in the woods. Temari is content with letting Shikadai think he’s gotten one over on them, partially because Shikamaru actually seems oblivious to it. Temari had tested him once, asking if she had noticed anything odd with their son and Inojin and Shikamaru had said he hadn’t noticed anything particularly strange. But Temari is also willing to let it go because she knows her boy, and knows that when he’s ready, he’ll tell them. He’s a smart kid and his head is screwed on the right way, so Temari trusts him. 

Shikadai drags himself out of bed at an hour Temari would usually never allow but Shikadai had taken great pains to tell her they had no missions that day so it was okay to both stay out later than usual and also stay in bed longer than usual. He’d told her several times throughout the day almost to the point where Temari considered punishing Shikadai for coming home late and then flipping his ass out of bed at the crack of dawn just on principle - he wasn’t going to nag her and get away with it. 

But maybe Shikadai sensed her simmering wrath so he only stayed out an hour longer than normal, but slept in much later than he was usually allowed to. His hair is still loose and sticking up in a few places and he yawns widely and slides into his chair. “Morning.” 

“Good morning,” Temari smiles at Shikadai, who seems to be nodding off in his chair. 

When Temari is pushing Shikadai’s breakfast towards him, that’s when she sees it - a tiny dark bruise near Shikadai’s collarbone and another one close to the back of Shikadai’s neck. She smirks to herself because she knows what they are, and pokes at one of the spots. Shikadai very nearly hits the ceiling. 

“What’s this?” she keeps her tone to one of maternal inquisitiveness. “Bug bites?” 

“Yeah,” Shikadai stammers, curling up to avoid Temari’s prodding fingers. “Probably a bug bite.” 

“Well, you and Inojin have been hanging out in the woods a lot,” she says. Shikadai’s ears turn bright red. “You should warn Inojin about the bugs. He’s so pale, I’m sure they’d really stick out on him.” 

Shikadai looks wide awake now and sulkily glares at her. “Yes, Mom,” he mumbles. 

Temari ruffles his hair and Shikadai rubs at his neck before beginning to scarf down his breakfast. 

Later that night, Shikamaru comes home with a bunch of flowers and Temari asks what’s the occasion. Shikamaru says he stopped by the Yamanaka Flower Shop and that Inojin was working there.

“He had some little bug bites on his neck,” Shikamaru mentions and Shikadai chokes on his dinner. “I told him I’d send Shikadai around with an ointment. The woods are pretty full of bugs, aren’t they?” 

Shikadai excuses himself from the table and skulks off. 

Temari glances at her husband sharply. “You’ve known for as long as I’ve known, or longer,” she says. 

Shikamaru snorts. “Of course I knew, he’s our son.” 

Shikadai still doesn’t say anything about it, but miraculously, he and Inojin don’t seem to be getting any more bug bites when they hang out in the woods together. 

Or at least they don’t have any bug bites in visible places.

**Author's Note:**

> New chapters will be posted on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays!!


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